US Envoy Departs for Afghanistan to Negotiate Peace Deal

The US is pressing on with its efforts to broker a peace agreement in the Middle East. The theater this time around is Afghanistan, where talks between the local government and Taliban representatives will resume this week following the arrival in Kabul of American special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad. Khalilzad departed Washington over the weekend for a tour that will also include visits to Qatar, Pakistan, Bulgaria and Norway. In February, US and Taliban officials signed an agreement paving the way for the reduction of American troops in the country. Washington’s stated goal in reaching the agreement was to advance a peace deal between the official Afghan government, headed by President Ashraf Ghani, and Taliban leaders. At its height in the late 1990s, the Taliban controlled more than three-quarters of Afghanistan and enacted extreme Sharia law. It was overthrown in 2002 following the US-led invasion. Since then, the Taliban have launched countless attacks against Afghan troops and civilians, killing tens of thousands and clawing back control of about 20% of the land it had lost. Most of Afghanistan today is considered contested by the internationally recognized government in Kabul and the Taliban.