From their new office in Qatar, Taliban officials announced last Tuesday that they were ready to engage American and Afghan officials in peace talks. After months of refusing to come to the negotiating table, the Taliban said through a spokesman that it now sought “a political and peaceful solution” to the war that has been going on for over a decade.

Still, though, the talks may not happen. When the United States responded last Tuesday that it would send over delegates to begin work on a peace deal, it apparently failed to consult with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. As a result, Karzai said he will not pursue peace talks “until the peace process is totally under Afghan control.” The Afghan government is upset with the U.S., as its backing of the talks effectively endorses the Taliban’s legitimacy.

This peace initiative is the latest move in America’s rapid retreat from the war in Afghanistan, a war the U.S. no longer wants to be part of. While government officials admitted these peace talks would be only the beginning of a “complex, long and messy” ordeal, they have made it abundantly clear that America wants out of Afghanistan. In his second inaugural address, President Obama stated, “A decade of war is now ending.” He reiterated in May, “This war, like all wars, must end. That’s what history advises ….”

America has had enough of war. After more than a decade of fighting in Afghanistan that has left 2,238 Americans dead, America’s will to fight is sapped.

In the November 2003 Trumpet issue, just two years into the Afghanistan war, editor in chief Gerald Flurry warned that America couldn’t win the war against terrorism:

History teaches us some powerful lessons—if we are willing to learn. For example, history teaches us that we cannot win our war against terrorism. We can learn some essential lessons about our future through history. …Most of our politicians, the press and our universities do not understand terrorism—nor do they understand history! Winston Churchill said “the history of man is war.” Misinformed people like to believe that is not true.Superpowers cannot survive in this evil, warring world without the will to wage long, hard wars. This is the real world in which we live; fantasies won’t change that reality.

Fox News reported that right now, “violence is at levels matching the worst in 12 years.” The war in Afghanistan is far from over. But the U.S. is not about to turn down a promise of peace. The fact that it jumped at the opportunity of a deal so quickly shows just how much America wants peace, no matter the cost. Mr. Flurry continued,

Middle East peace treaties dominate the news—as all kinds of peace treaties did just before World War ii began! It is just another major sign that war is about to explode in theMiddleEast! And it will lead to World War iii.Being spellbound by peace treaties has kept the Western world from fully seeing and recognizing Iran’s massive plot to control the Middle East. That will never be stopped by a peace treaty! Only a superior power could ever stop this extreme Islamic movement! …President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have courageously restricted Iran’s influence by toppling the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq. However, these are ongoing terrorist wars. We will still lose those wars if our nations don’t unite behind our leaders. That is almost certainly not going to happen.Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush had the vision to see that our nations can’t win the war against terrorism without using our power!

America has since lost that vision. It no longer thinks this is a victory that can be attained with power. Top military leaders have believed for some time that the war would not be won on the battlefield, but at the negotiating table. The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, said, “My perspective has always been that this war is going to have to end with political reconciliation and so I frankly would be supportive of any positive movement in terms of reconciliation ….”

Politicians want to make Afghanistan look like an American victory, but that is simply not the case. A recent report from the Center for a New American Security criticized the administration’s rapid pullout of Afghanistan, saying that “future American policy should … be motivated not by a desire to cut losses but with a determination to lock in hard-fought gains.”

America cannot simply wish away the Afghanistan war or the global war on terror. Political commentator Charles Krauthammer called it “John Lennon, bumper-sticker foreign policy—Imagine World Peace.” America is not willing to face the reality of the world today. As Mr. Flurry wrote in that same November 2003 Trumpet,

Any nation or bloc of nations that knocks off the number one superpower becomes the number one superpower! This is the lesson of human nature and of our history books. A superpower can’t run and hide.

But running is exactly what America is doing. A peace deal with the enemy betrays the thousands who have given their lives in the Afghanistan war. Consider: nato just turned over all control of Afghanistan’s security to the largely untrained, less-capable Afghan Army, with all foreign combat troops set to leave at the end of 2014; the nation is experiencing its worst violence in 12 years; and it’s now that the Taliban wants to strike a peace deal.

America is gambling on the fact that the Afghan Army will be able to hold off the Taliban should the Taliban ever break the treaty (if a treaty does in fact form). After the Taliban announced its desire to hold peace talks, four Americans were killed later the same day by Taliban forces.

America’s leaders are ignoring one of the most important lessons of history. As Mr. Flurry wrote,

Our leaders fail to understand history because they refuse to understand that evil human nature is within every individual on Earth—including you and me! (Jeremiah 17:9). For example, our refusal to use our military might is often not righteousness, as we like to believe, but despicable weakness resulting from our sins. We simply lack the faith, character and courage to fight against Iran, the number one terrorist nation today.

In 2003, when the war in Afghanistan was just getting underway, many were behind former President Bush’s decision to go after the terrorists. But it didn’t last. “The pride in our power has been broken! … We could be a terror to any nation who dared sponsor terrorism against us and our allies. But those days are gone with the wind! So brace yourself for a terrifying future …” (ibid).

The government’s desire to broker a peace deal with the Taliban is a sure sign that America’s pride in its power is broken. Bible prophecy shows that we have passed the point of no return. A terrifying future is coming. But there is hope. All of this is leading directly to the return of Jesus Christ, who will put down all war and conflict. Peace is about to fill the entire world. It’s closer than you might think. To understand more about America’s rapid pullout from Afghanistan, read “Why We Cannot Win the War Against Terrorism.”