Image credit: Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images
August 20, 2018
It's time to talk to the Taliban about peace
In recent days there has been a lot more gruesome news from Afghanistan. Taliban fighters invaded the strategic city of Ghazni, killing a hundred Afghan troops, dozens of civilians and displacing tens of thousands of people. In Kabul a suicide bomber killed students preparing for university exams.
Seventeen years after the US-led coalition invasion, peace would seem as far away as ever … and yet, the Taliban and the US State Department are talking, as recently as last month, in Doha.
We speak to Christopher Kolenda – adjunct Senior Fellow at the Centre for a New American Security; former Senior Advisor on Afghanistan and Pakistan to U.S. Under Secretary of Defence; former US Army taskforce commander in Afghanistan.
Listen to this segment and more from ABC
More from CNAS
-
Constructing a New Middle East: In Pursuit of an American-Led Regional Security Architecture
Commentary
Washington has a rare moment where policy and politics could align to build and ultimately achieve something of lasting strategic value that delivers better and more sustainab...
By Jonathan Lord
-
The Significance of Juniper Oak
Commentary
On Monday, the United States and Israel launched Juniper Oak 23, a multi-day series of bilateral military exercises. US-Israel military exercises aren’t unusual in the region,...
By Jonathan Lord
-
Uncertainty Hangs over Iraqi Kurdistan in 2023
Commentary
Ensuring stability in Iraqi Kurdistan is important for the U.S. and its allies....
By Hamzeh Hadad
-
Iran Sends Syrian Weapons to Russia
Video
Jonathan Lord, Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, discusses Iran sending Syrian weapons to Russia. Watch the full intervie...
By Jonathan Lord
