Top U.S. General in Afghanistan: Time to Negotiate ‘Peace Process’ with Taliban

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan this week urged the Taliban to enter peace talks with the Afghan government after President Trump announced his new strategy to “kill terrorists.”

“With the announcement of this policy, the Taliban cannot win on the battlefield. It is time for them to join the peace process,” Army Gen. John Nicholson said at a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday.

The Trump administration is hoping that by not announcing a withdrawal date and vowing to stay until the job is done, the Taliban will give up and come to the table, versus wait out U.S. and international troops.

“The United States and our NATO allies and partners are with you. We will stay with you,” Nicholson said.

“Let me stress that our continuing support to Afghanistan — our commitment to the great people of Afghanistan and our confidence in your security forces — is unwavering,” he added.

Much of the new strategy hinges on whether the Taliban will call Washington’s bluff.

The Obama administration had ordered a massive troop surge and at the same time unsuccessfully tried to orchestrate peace talks with the Taliban, even refraining from calling them “terrorists” in order to negotiate with them.

But at the same time, Trump has already signaled that U.S. patience is not “unlimited” and that this is not a “blank check” for war.

With as many as 4,000 more U.S. forces headed to the battlefield and $45 billion currently spent on the war each year, the administration will be vulnerable to many of the same calls to end the war that previous administrations faced.

Against that political backdrop, Nicholson again stressed that terrorist groups’ “best option” is to begin peace talks.

“We are determined to pursue the goal of a political settlement. As these terrorist groups realize that they cannot win on the battlefield, they will see that their best option is to pursue peace.”

He implored the Taliban directly:

To the Taliban, I say you have a simple choice. Stop fighting against your countrymen. Stop killing innocent civilians. Stop bringing hardship and misery to the Afghan people. Lay down your arms and join Afghan society. Help build a better future for this country and your own children.

“We will not fail in Afghanistan,” he said.