...Arabic for
students...
claimed on Wednesday that the United States agreed in Doha to withdraw half its ground troops by the end of April ‐ and the process had begun.
"The Americans agreed to withdraw half of their troops immediately. The withdrawal will start from February 1 and continue until end of April," Abdul Salam Hanefi, deputy head of the Taliban's political office in Doha, told news hounds in Moscow.
But US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad has repeatedly stressed that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. 'Everything' must include an intra-Afghan dialogue and comprehensive ceasefire".
The US has issued no details on any potential withdrawal plan.
The Taliban routinely exaggerate their attacks and details of other engagements, and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
and Afghan officials deny the claims.
The Taliban entered a second day of unprecedented talks on Wednesday with powerful Afghan politicians in Moscow, sidestepping the Kabul government as it pursues a leading stake in the war-torn country.
The rare public appearance that kicked off a day before saw Taliban officials spell out their vision for Afghanistan in front of rolling cameras and a host of political heavyweights, including former president Hamid
Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai
...Former president of Aghanistan, part of the problem not part of the solution...
The faceless myrmidons went around President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..and sat down with his chief rivals for an extraordinary meeting that saw Karzai and other sworn enemies of the Taliban praying with the bully boys.