Over the weekend, Afghan officials and Taliban militants met quietly for two days in the Qatar capital of Doha to discuss the possibility of “reconciliation” in Afghanistan—not peace, and not in any official capacity, as both sides were quick to point out in hopes of minimizing expectations.
“One of my observations these days is we never hear the word 'peace,'” said Charles Sennott, head of The GroundTruth Project.
“The resistance to using the word 'peace talks’ or 'peace negotiations,' I think, speaks volumes to how far apart the two sides are,” he continued.
One of the starkest differences between the two sides is the role they expect U.S. forces to play in the future of the country. The Taliban has said that they will only participate in peace talks if all U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan. But that could mean that many reforms forged over the past decade—including the rise of girls’ schools, which were formerly forbidden by the Taliban—could be in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, the Taliban has launched a “spring campaign” in the northeastern part of the country, which killed 18 policemen on Sunday. Preventing future attacks, Sennott says, will be a major concern if the two sides are to move forward with negotiations.
“The State Department is fully aware that you cannot go onward without really bringing down the level of the attacks from the Taliban,” Sennott said. “So to get that rolling, in order to end that killing of police and Afghan Army, you’re going to have to get the Taliban to at least begin to sit down at the table and talk about: what is the political solution to this war?”
But a lasting political solution, Sennott warns, is a long way off.
“I think every baby step, every incremental gain that can be made toward reconcilation...is important,” he said. “I don’t want to be dismissive of it. I just don’t see any substance yet.”
To hear more from Charles Sennott, tune in to Boston Public Radio above.
