KABUL – The majority of American ambassadors to Afghanistan since fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 have condemned the United States approach to negotiating troop withdrawal, warning it risked a return to “total civil war”.
Writing the day after a draft agreement was announced, at least nine people, including a former deputy secretary of state, said they supported peace talks in Afghanistan.
But they warned the current approach risks spawning more violence and insecurity, because negotiators have cut the Afghan government out of discussions and have planned the departure of US troops before sealing a full peace agreement, as The Guardian reported.
“We believe that US security and values, including support for women, require that a full troop withdrawal come only after a real peace,” said the open letter, published by the Atlantic Council.
“We must not yank so much support from our Afghan friends that they are unable to protect themselves or the chance to keep moving forward with a representative democracy.”
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After roughly a year of negotiations, US special envoy for Afghan peace Zalmay Khalilzad has reached a draft deal with the Taliban for US troop withdrawal, where Afghan government was excluded from the talks, and the draft deal was only shown to President Ashraf Ghani this week.
The draft withdrawal deal does not define how Afghanistan should be governed once American troops have gone. Critics say that could set the stage for an intensified civil war, according to report.
The agreement yet to be approved by US President Donald Trump before it can be signed, as he desires to extricate the US form its longest war fought in Afghanistan.
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