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Afghanistan

What Has the U.S. Got Against Peace Talks?

Four largely psychological impediments often stand in the way of Washington’s ability to achieve a deal.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019 / By: Johnny Walsh

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the Afghan peace process, closing off for the time being a rare opening to resolve a long, stagnant, and unpopular war. Whatever one thinks of the specifics of the deal that the U.S. representative at the talks, Zalmay Khalilzad, had nearly finalized with the Taliban, the episode was a perfect demonstration of the conflicted, often self-defeating view of peace agreements that mires U.S. foreign policy.

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