Another Day, Another Round of US-Taliban Peace Talks

American and Taliban officials are meeting in Doha, Qatar, for the sixth round of peace talks aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan, according to Reuters, citing the Taliban spokesman. The US delegation, led by special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, will focus on the declaration of a ceasefire, an anonymous western diplomat was cited as saying, whereas the Taliban will emphasize a withdrawal of US forces. Washington has some 14,000 troops remaining in the country. The US delegation has held several rounds of negotiations with the militant Islamist group since October as US President Donald Trump wants to reach an agreement to end the longest war in US history. The conflict, which began in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks, removed the Taliban from power within the first year and has since involved assisting the Afghan government’s security forces battle Taliban insurgents and other extremist groups, such as Islamic State and al-Qaida.