U.S.-Taliban Peace Deal Sets Stage for Troop Withdrawal

All foreign troops could be out of Afghanistan in 14 months, under an agreement signed in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 29, which Defense Secretary Mark Esper called “the best chance Afghanistan has had in 19 years to achieve peace.” The agreement between the Taliban and the U.S. “paves the way for intra-Afghan negotiations to proceed so that a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire may be achieved,” Esper said during a ceremony in Kabul. The U.S. plans to reduce the force level there from 12,000 to 8,600 within 135 days, and eventually remove all American troops from the country—provided the Taliban holds up its end of the agreement, he said. Read more ►