The "movement" is a political fact and cannot be ignored
Biden plans to review the Doha agreement between the United States and "Taliban"
Biden has an opportunity to reform the Doha Peace Agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
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The bombings are still continuing in intensity in Kabul despite the agreement between the previous US administration and the "Taliban".
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The US President, Joe Biden, is planning to review the agreement between the United States and "the Taliban", which his predecessor Donald Trump signed, and the so-called Doha Agreement.
Some believe that the agreement was reached in a hurry, because the United States was seeking in various ways to put an end to its war in Afghanistan, which lasted for 19 years, but the agreement in its current form could cause more harm to America and Afghanistan than to achieve the desired goals.
There are reasons to believe that the new administration is only praising the Afghan issue.
During his confirmation session in the Senate, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that the United States "wants to end the so-called eternal war."
Well, Mr. Blinken, the Afghan war is unlikely to end anytime soon.
Impasse
If it is only about withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan, then the Doha 2020 agreement will serve the purpose.
If it is a question of ending the conflict and ensuring security in Afghanistan, then it can be said that the current deal is flawed and insufficient.
Violent attacks have escalated in Afghanistan since the signing of the agreement between the United States and the "Taliban".
The rebel group denies involvement in these attacks, but it is difficult to trust them when they refuse to agree to a nationwide ceasefire, despite repeated requests from Washington and Kabul.
The talks between the Afghans practically stopped.
There has been little progress in these crucial negotiations since they were launched in September, after months of wrangling and accusations.
There are issues related to human rights and reducing violence, but the main obstacle is agreement on the future political component that will govern this war-torn country.
What will such a component look like?
The United States assumed that this should be left to the Taliban and the government of President Ashraf Ghani.
Well, it shouldn't;
Because it is also part of Washington's responsibility.
The Taliban and Kabul have completely different views of the type of government that should rule Afghanistan.
The "Taliban" want a regime ruled by Sharia, while Ghani wants to preserve parliamentary democracy.
Even if the Taliban accept the parliamentary form of government, they want to have the upper hand in the executive authority.
And why don't they claim it when they control vast swaths of land in the country, and have an edge on the battlefield.
They believe they can dictate their terms to the Afghan government, which remains financially and militarily dependent on the United States and other Western countries.
Therefore, any deal that mainly relates to the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan will strengthen the "Taliban" further.
At the mercy of the regional players
The newly appointed National Security Adviser to President Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, confirmed recently that "the United States will support the peace process with a strong regional diplomatic effort."
Herein lies the problem, because regional powers are only interested in their own interests.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi expressed his hope that the Biden administration would seize the opportunity for peace in Afghanistan, which in fact means that he hopes the United States will not amend Trump's deal.
It is true that the Doha agreement would not have been possible without the support of Islamabad.
Because Pakistan has great influence over the Taliban, and it played a major role in bringing the insurgents to the negotiating table.
However, Pakistan wants a strong role for the "Taliban" in the future Afghan rule.
Its regional interests are becoming more effective with a strong Taliban presence in its western neighborhood.
But this does not guarantee peace in Afghanistan.
Back to 1996
Pakistan may be the biggest beneficiary of the US agreement with the Taliban last year, as it hopes to reduce India’s influence in Afghanistan, which has doubled since the US invasion of the country in 2001. Some commentators say that with the Doha agreement, Trump has effectively handed over Kabul to Kabul. Islamabad.
Does Biden want to give Pakistan and the Taliban this amount of control over Afghanistan?
That would take that country back to 1996, when the Taliban seized Kabul and began its hard-line rule for five years, and Afghanistan and the northern regions of Pakistan became a haven for militants.
The "Taliban" is a political fact and cannot be ignored.
And in any future preparation, the group will play a big role.
But after nearly two decades of chaos in the name of democratization and stabilization in Afghanistan, Washington cannot leave the Afghans at the mercy of competing stakeholders.
With Trump out of power, it is time for the new administration to revise the agreement between the United States and the "Taliban".
Does this mean that the "Taliban" will be willing to renegotiate the deal?
Very unlikely.
But the new administration needs at least to try to put more pressure on the insurgents and play a bigger role in intra-Afghan negotiations.
The United States cannot escape Afghanistan.
Afghan army abandoned 200 checkpoints for "Taliban"
A US watchdog agency said yesterday that Afghan forces have abandoned nearly 200 checkpoints in Kandahar province, south of the country, to the "Taliban" movement.
The report issued by the General Inspection Authority for the Reconstruction of Afghanistan (Cigar) comes at a time when the number of US forces in Afghanistan is declining to their lowest levels since 2001.
It is noteworthy that the region had witnessed, in recent months, violent clashes between government forces and elements of the "Taliban", which prompted thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
In its last quarterly report for the year 2020, Cigar said that Afghanistan has about 6000 checkpoints managed by 95,000 soldiers and police, who represent a third of the country's security forces.
After nearly two decades of chaos in the name of democratization and stabilization in Afghanistan, Washington cannot leave Afghans at the mercy of competing stakeholders.
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