KABUL, Afghanistan—The Biden administration’s mission to secure a U.S.-brokered Taliban-Afghan peace deal in time for a May 1 withdrawal of American troops is imploding by the day, with insider sources from both the Taliban and Afghan government telling The Daily Beast that the final push to reach an agreement is doomed to fail.
Experts say that the peace deal—an eight-page version of which has been reviewed by The Daily Beast—has all the makings of a rushed and desperate bid. But that hasn’t kept U.S. officials from relentlessly pressuring all sides to accept its terms, even going so far as to support peace talks hosted by long-time rival Russia.
Despite American fervor to meet the original exit deadline set by former President Trump, stunted peace negotiations and a substantial uptick in violence in the country have convinced Afghan officials that Biden is on the verge of halting the withdrawal instead of continuing to push for a bad deal.
“This is very rushed, and rushed in a way that increases the risk of a complete failure,” a senior security official in the Afghan government involved in the negotiations told The Daily Beast. “They do seem desperate, but I don’t exactly know for what reason. Because they aren’t going to leave Afghanistan now or later or ever,” the official said.
Read full report on The Daily Beast
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