MONITORING (SW) – U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Washington is working to end the war in Afghanistan.
He told the United Nations General Assembly that his administration was focused on achieving “peace through strength” in Afghanistan and Middle East. “America is fulfilling our destiny as peacemaker,” he said in a prerecorded address, touting US-brokered normalization-of-relations deals between Israel and two Arab nations, ongoing talks to end the Afghanistan War, and a Serbia and Kosovo pact signed at the White House.
“The United States is also working to end the war in Afghanistan, and we are bringing our troops home. America is fulfilling our destiny as peacemaker, but it is peace through strength. We are stronger now than ever before. Our weapons are at an advanced level, like we’ve never had before, like, frankly, we’ve never even thought of having before, and I only pray to God that we never have to use them.
Meanwhile, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has said women’s rights and minority rights were a top priority for the United States, and insisted that the administration had not abandoned their cause. During a congress hearing, he acknowledged that the country’s political future would be determined by talks between the Taliban militants and an Afghan government-led delegation.
“At this hearing, I want to assure the Afghan women that we will be with them,” the Afghan-born diplomat said. He added that the administration “will express ourselves forcefully” on the issue.
The peace talks that got underway on Sept. 12 followed a U.S-Taliban agreement signed in February. Under that deal, Washington agreed to withdraw American troops by May 2021 in return for the Taliban renouncing terrorism and agreeing to direct peace talks with their foes in the Afghan government. The U.S.-Taliban agreement did not address women’s rights, the AP reported.
The Afghan parliament members have appealed to Washington to “let this deal be known as one that preserved the rights of every Afghan man and woman. Not a deal that prevents little girls from going to school, not a deal that leads to the destruction of our institutions, not a deal that backtracks on the great achievements of freedom and democracy,” according to the letter obtained by NBC News.
Khalilzad said future U.S. assistance to Afghanistan would depend on what decisions are made in the peace talks, including on the rights of women.
Khalilzad also said that the Taliban had "taken some positive steps" toward cutting ties with al Qaeda, but the administration was not satisfied and wanted to see further action. He did not offer more details.
Khalilzad defended the administration’s diplomacy, saying compromises were required to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. “Among the alternatives we face, this is the best available,” he said.
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