US officials meet Taliban for the first time after Al-Qaeda leader was killed

on

 For the first time since Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in Afghanistan in July, senior US administration officials met face-to-face with a Taliban delegation.

According to Western media, the face-to-face meeting took place on October 8 local time in the Qatari capital Doha.


The US administration has sent the deputy director of the CIA and the top State Department official responsible for Afghanistan to Doha to hold talks with a Taliban delegation, including the head of the intelligence agency, Abdul Haq Wasiq.


After leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by the US in an attack in the Afghan capital Kabul in July, Washington repeatedly accused the Taliban of "clear and flagrant" violations of the Doha agreement.


This is an agreement brokered by the administration of former President Donald Trump, which stipulates that the Taliban will not harbor terrorists if US forces withdraw from Afghanistan.


After a US drone launched a Hellfire missile at Zawahiri's hideout on July 31, US officials accused the Taliban leader of knowing about Zawahiri's whereabouts, while the Taliban were angry. condemn Washington's campaign.


Since then, the US has continued to engage in matters with the Taliban, including negotiating the release of US citizen Mark Frerichs, but senior officials from both sides have not met face-to-face since days before Zawahiri was killed. destroy.


During this meeting, the presence of CIA Deputy Director David Cohen and Taliban intelligence chief Wasiq suggested that counterterrorism could be the main issue in the meeting.


Cohen was accompanied by the US State Department's special representative for Afghanistan Tom West, who has often spearheaded deals with the Taliban since the withdrawal of US troops in 2021.


While maintaining ties to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban themselves are facing an insurgency from Islamic State affiliates known as ISIS-K.


The group regularly targets the Hazara minority in Afghanistan. At least 25 people, mostly young women, were killed in a suicide attack last week at an education center in the predominantly Hazara neighborhood of Kabul. No individual or organization has claimed responsibility.


"The Taliban are struggling to stop ISIS-K attacks, which make the group look like nothing," said Beth Sanner, a former Deputy Director of National Intelligence who led analysis on Afghanistan at the CIA. , especially in Kabul".


According to Sanner, Cohen has the potential to send a strong message that "we will launch more attacks like we did against Zawahiri if we see that al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan are assisting. support activities that threaten the United States or its allies".


"ISIS-K now poses a threat to within Afghanistan, to the Taliban, and to sectarian stability due to ISIS-K's focus on killing Shiites. But there are some notable concerns that, ISIS-K will ultimately be." may turn to outside plots if the Taliban cannot tolerate them," she added.


Last month, the White House spoke about cooperation with the Taliban on counterterrorism, calling it "a work in progress."


In September, the administration of President Joe Biden announced the creation of an "Afghan Fund" worth $3.5 billion, with the country's frozen funds to promote economic stability.


But the US has not transferred this fund because it is not confident enough that Afghanistan has a reliable organization to ensure the money benefits the people.


Administration officials have also repeatedly raised the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan during negotiations with the Taliban. The United Nations rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan last month called the decline in the role of women and girls in Afghan society "astonishing".

See more:

  • https://top5vnn.com/product-category/ugly-sweater/

    • Comments

    Post a Comment