Revived talks between the United States and the Taliban are now in limbo just one day after they were announced. State Department and White House officials were due to meet with Taliban delegates in Qatar today for their first negotiations in more than a year. But hours after the talks were announced, the Afghan government said it would withdraw from the process as well as from ongoing negotiations on security cooperation with the United States. An Afghan government spokesperson said the United States violated a pledge to withhold official recognition of the Taliban. The Taliban has named its new political office in Qatar the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” The diplomatic uncertainty came amidst continued Taliban attacks inside Afghanistan on the U.S.-led NATO occupation. Four U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday in a rocket attack on the Bagram military base.
Taliban-U.S. Talks Stalled After Afghan Gov’t Protests
HeadlineJun 20, 2013