Washington, Oct 2 (ANI): With the surge of American troops over and the Taliban still a potent threat, US military and diplomatic officials in Afghanistan are now abandoning their once ambitious plans for ending the war in the nation, which they had sought to fulfill by cutting out a peace deal with the Taliban.
What was once one of the cornerstones of the US strategy for ending the war in Afghanistan are now being replaced by the far more modest goal of setting the stage for the Afghans to work out a deal among themselves after the withdrawal of the NATO troops in 2014, and to ensure Pakistan is on board with any eventual settlement.
Officials in the nation and in Washington said that despite attempts to engage directly with Taliban leaders this year, they now expect that any significant progress will come only after 2014, once the bulk of NATO troops have left.
"I don't see it happening in the next couple years. It's a very resilient enemy, and I'm not going to tell you it's not. It will be a constant battle, and it will be for years," the New York Times quoted a senior coalition officer, as saying, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the paper, the failure to broker meaningful talks with the Taliban underscores the fragility of the gains claimed during the surge of American troops ordered by President Obama in 2009. The 30,000 extra troops won back territory held by the Taliban, but by nearly all estimates failed to deal a crippling blow.
Critics of the Obama administration say the United States also weakened its own hand by agreeing to the 2014 deadline for its own involvement in combat operations, voluntarily ceding the prize the Taliban has been seeking for over a decade.
But, the Obama administration defends the deadline as crucial to persuading the Afghan government and military to assume full responsibility for the country, and politically necessary for Americans weary of what has already become the country's longest war, the paper said.
According to most of the American commanding generals in Afghanistan, the believed that 'the Afghan war, like most insurgencies, could only end with a negotiation'.
American officials claim they have reduced their goals, to patiently laying the groundwork for eventual peace talks after they leave. They are hoping that the Taliban will find the Afghan Army a more formidable adversary than they expect and be compelled, in the years after NATO withdraws, to come to terms with what they now dismiss as a "puppet" government, the paper added. (ANI)
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