He warns that this agreement will not be able to repeat what the United States signed with the North Vietnamese during the Paris peace talks in 1973, “where we actually hope that the enemy will behave once we are gone.” But within weeks, the Doha talks were back on track and in less than five months since Trump ended talks with Qatar, the United States and the Taliban are on the verge of signing a historic agreement. What has changed so dramatically in such a short time that Washington is ready to seal a deal with one of its sworn enemies? Al Qaeda, an international terrorist network, was granted safe haven in Afghanistan on the condition that it did not antagonize the United States, but Osama bin Laden broke the deal in 1998 by orchestrating bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa. The episode was indicative of tensions that occurred between the two groups. The Taliban were fundamentally narrow-minded, while al-Qaeda aimed at global jihad. [12] “We are concerned about the ambiguity of the agreement and the scarcity of the Afghan people as to what is agreed between the United States and the Taliban,” said Humaira Saqib, a Kabul-based human rights activist, DW. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper stressed that the deal was just the beginning and that Washington was ready to withdraw if the Taliban did not respect the agreement. On March 27, 2020, the Afghan government announced the creation of a team of 21 negotiators for the peace talks. The agreement provided for the withdrawal of US and international troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban, which did not allow other jihadist groups to operate in the country. [79] The Taliban also announced that progress would be made in the negotiations. [79] Ideological differences have led to issues that arise, including human rights. The 2004 Afghan Constitution protects women`s rights, such as speech and education, as well as freedom of the press, including freedom of expression,[20] both of which have been repressed under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

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