The latest round of US talks with the Taliban is being hailed as a breakthrough in terms of a possible blueprint to move the stalled peace process forward. In reality, however, nothing could be further from the truth. And it is Washington that risks departing from the Afghan quagmire with its tails firmly between its legs; if leaves at all.
The UAE moot was a little different than previous interactions. For one thing, these were not bilateral in nature. For in attendance were Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the Emiratis. That is, the three countries who came under global fire for recognising the Taliban regime of the 1990s that had earned international pariah status due its hardline interpretation of Islam and subjugation of women; the question of Caspian Sea oil and gas reserves notwithstanding. Yet 17 years on and the Americans are back where they started. Except that this time around they are courting the very actors that they had vowed to destroy back in 2001; ostensibly to prevent the country from ever again becoming a terrorist sanctuary. The biggest fallout of which was the fleeing of Al Qaeda to this side of the border. What came next was the convenient scapegoating of Pakistan for American failures next door; something that continues to this day.
There has been much talk from all sides of the need for an Afghan-led and -owned peace process. Indeed, this prompted President Ghani to take the extremely bold step of offering the Taliban a comprehensive peace package that included amnesty for those willing to down arms. But this never got off the ground due to the militants’ refusal to deal directly with Kabul; preferring to seek assurances from the US regarding a timetable for a military exit. That being said, Ghani’s detractors contend that his subsequent stubbornness in terms of participating in multilateral dialogue is entirely misplaced. Not least because the peace deal put on the table back in February was unconditional. Meaning that it did not call for a halt in Taliban violence. This, argue pundits, unwittingly afforded the latter undue diplomatic privilege that emboldened it to hold talks with nation states on near equal footing. And as a result, the militant outfit presently enjoys a certain degree of international legitimacy.
