Western intervention in Afghanistan is a failure

Holding peace talks with the Taliban is scandalous — and yet the radical Islamists appear set for a power-sharing deal with the US as Kabul prepares for a leadership void. The future looks grim, writes Florian Weigand.

The war in Afghanistan has been raging for seventeen years — almost three times the duration of World War II. Now, after many long years of suffering and civilians in constant mortal danger, peace is finally in sight. But while the West had always fueled hopes of a better future for the country, what a peace deal would look like remains uncertain — and the situation looks grim. 

The Taliban have not been defeated; on the contrary, they will be part of a political power sharing deal, with the blessing of their arch enemy, the US. This means that after decades of fighting they have emerged stronger than they were during the late 1990s, when they ruled Kabul but were ostracized on the international stage for being reactionary Islamists. That these radicals, who are responsible for endless terrorist attacks, will now gain a pivotal position in Afghan politics thanks to the US is scandalous. Once again, US President Donald Trump and his aides have broken a foreign policy taboo.