US and Taliban reach an agreement to end the war in Afghanistan after 19 years News
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US and Taliban reach an agreement to end the war in Afghanistan after 19 years

The US announced on Saturday that it has agreed to terms with the Taliban to end the 19-year war in Afghanistan.

In the peace agreement, the US has promised to decrease troop presence in Afghanistan. In exchange, the Taliban has agreed to sever all ties with international terror groups. The US will surveil Taliban compliance and gradually remove troops accordingly. The US additionally promises to issue a joint affirmation of the US and Afghan partnership following the agreement.

The Afghan government has not whole-heartedly embraced every provision of the US-Taliban agreement, however. The agreement compels the Afghan government to release over 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for the Taliban’s release of 1,000 prisoners. The president of Afghanistan announced Sunday that he will refuse to release the Taliban prisoners. The president of Afghanistan is not the agreement’s only critic.

Though many Trump administration officials praised the agreement for ending the long-lasting conflict, others condemned the president’s willingness to negotiate with the Taliban. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton criticized the agreement on Twitter, saying, “Signing this agreement with Taliban is an unacceptable risk to America’s civilian population. This is an Obama-style deal. Legitimizing Taliban sends the wrong signal to ISIS and al Qaeda terrorists, and to America’s enemies generally.”