Afghanistan: What Kind of Peace?

When Rahima Jami heard that the Americans and the Taliban were close to forging a peace deal after nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan, she thought about her feet.

Jami, now a lawmaker in the Afghan Parliament, was a school principal back in 1996, when a radical Islamist group called the Taliban seized power in the country. The Taliban forced her out of her job and told her that women had to wear a burqa—a head-to-toe cloak—when leaving their homes. One hot day at the market, her feet were showing from underneath her burqa, so the religious police beat them with a horse whip until she could barely stand.

Even all these years later, when Jami thinks of that time she was beaten, she says, “I remember it and I actually feel faint.”

Many Afghan women have similar horror stories of how they were treated when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001. Now Afghan women have something new to fear: the possibility that American troops will leave Afghanistan as part of a peace agreement.

After nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan, the United States and the Taliban are close to securing a peace deal. When Rahima Jami heard that, she thought about her feet.

Jami, now a lawmaker in the Afghan Parliament, was a school principal back in 1996. That year, a radical Islamist group called the Taliban seized power in the country. The Taliban forced her out of her job. They also told her that women had to wear a head-to-toe cloak called a burqa when leaving their homes. One hot day at the market, her feet were showing from underneath her burqa. In response, the religious police beat her feet with a horse whip until she could barely stand.

Even all these years later, when Jami thinks of that time she was beaten, she says, “I remember it, and I actually feel faint.”

Many Afghan women have similar horror stories of how they were treated when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001. Now Afghan women have something new to fear. Anxiety has grown over the possibility that American troops will leave Afghanistan as part of a peace agreement.

In January, a U.S. official announced that American and Taliban negotiators had agreed to the outlines of a deal that could end American military involvement in Afghanistan. It’s the most concrete step toward ending a war that has killed 2,284 Americans and tens of thousands of Afghans, and dragged on for more than 17 years, making it America’s longest military entanglement ever.

U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001, in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States in which nearly 3,000 people were killed. The attacks were planned in Afghanistan by Al Qaeda, a terrorist group that had been given safe haven by the Taliban.

In January, a U.S. official announced that American and Taliban negotiators had agreed to the outlines of a deal. The agreement could end American military involvement in Afghanistan. It’s the most concrete step toward ending a war that has killed 2,284 Americans and tens of thousands of Afghans. The conflict has dragged on for more than 17 years. That makes it America’s longest military entanglement ever.

U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan in 2001, in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in those attacks. They were planned in Afghanistan by Al Qaeda, a terrorist group that the Taliban had given safe haven.

The U.S. and its allies quickly ousted the Taliban and helped set up a new Afghan government. But many of the Taliban retreated into the Afghan countryside and regrouped as insurgent fighters, carrying out deadly terrorist attacks. The U.S.-backed Afghan government and American forces have been battling them ever since.

Now the U.S. is trying a different tactic: negotiation.

“The Taliban have committed, to our satisfaction, to do what is necessary that would prevent Afghanistan from ever becoming a platform for international terrorist groups or individuals,” said Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American negotiator, after the preliminary agreement was announced.

While both Americans and Afghans are eager to end the fighting, there are deep concerns about the long-term price of a peace deal with the Taliban. U.S. officials are mainly worried about Afghanistan once again becoming a refuge for terrorist groups. The Afghan government fears that without U.S. military support, it will not be able to hold off Taliban fighters, who are still engaged in a relentlessly bloody insurgency. And Afghan women, who suffered so harshly under the Taliban regime, are terrified that they’ll lose their rights and all the slow progress made under American protection.

The U.S. and its allies quickly kicked out the Taliban and helped set up a new Afghan government. But many of the Taliban escaped into the Afghan countryside. They regrouped there as insurgent fighters, carrying out deadly terrorist attacks. The U.S.-backed Afghan government and American forces have been battling them ever since.

Now the U.S. is trying a different tactic: negotiation.

“The Taliban have committed, to our satisfaction, to do what is necessary that would prevent Afghanistan from ever becoming a platform for international terrorist groups or individuals,” said Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American negotiator, after the preliminary agreement was announced.

Both Americans and Afghans are eager to end the fighting. But there are deep concerns about the long-term price of a peace deal with the Taliban. U.S. officials are mainly worried about Afghanistan once again becoming a refuge for terrorist groups. The Afghan government fears that without U.S. military support, it will not be able to hold off Taliban fighters. These fighters are still engaged in a relentlessly bloody revolt. And Afghan women, who suffered so harshly under the Taliban regime, are also concerned. They’re terrified that they’ll lose their rights and all the slow progress made under American protection.

Afghanistan has essentially been at war for 40 years. The fighting and instability began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 (see timeline, below). The Taliban, an extremist group with a very rigid interpretation of how Islam should be practiced, took control in 1996.

Life under the Taliban was hard. They persecuted the country’s few religious minorities. They banned music and TV. They forbade men from wearing neckties and required them to grow beards. But it was women who fared the worst. Girls older than 8 were prohibited from going to school. Women were barred from most jobs and told they must wear a burqa when they left their houses.

Although swiftly driven from power by U.S.-led forces, the Taliban have proved to be an adept guerrilla insurgency, and they’ve withstood all attempts to eradicate them from Afghanistan. The Trump administration now seems to be looking for an exit strategy that involves negotiating a deal with them. Some analysts have drawn an analogy to the Vietnam War (1965-75) (see “The New Vietnam?” below). In that conflict, the U.S. supported South Vietnam in its fight against Communist North Vietnam. In 1973, the three countries signed a peace deal that enabled the U.S. to bring its troops home.

Afghanistan has essentially been at war for 40 years. The fighting and instability began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 (see timeline, below). The Taliban is an extremist group with a very rigid interpretation of how Islam should be practiced. The group took control of the country in 1996.

Life under the Taliban was hard. They persecuted the country’s few religious minorities. They banned music and TV. They forbade men from wearing neckties and required them to grow beards. But it was women who fared the worst. The Taliban banned girls older than 8 from going to school. Women were barred from most jobs and told they must wear a burqa when they left their houses.

Although swiftly driven from power by U.S.-led forces, the Taliban have waged a skilled guerrilla rebellion. They’ve withstood all attempts to remove them from Afghanistan. The Trump administration now seems to be looking for an exit strategy that involves negotiating a deal with them. Some analysts have drawn an analogy to the Vietnam War (1965-75) (see “The New Vietnam?” below). In that conflict, the U.S. supported South Vietnam in its fight against Communist North Vietnam. In 1973, the three countries signed a peace deal that enabled the U.S. to bring its troops home. 

Even before the announcement of a preliminary framework for a peace agreement with the Taliban, President Trump had declared his intention to withdraw half of the 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, surprising his own military chiefs, who had advised against it.

“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” Trump said in the State of the Union address in February.

Some U.S. analysts are concerned that withdrawing U.S. troops as part of a peace deal will allow terrorist groups to once again flourish in Afghanistan.

Last year, Jim Mattis, who was then secretary of defense, pointed to the estimate that some 20 terrorist groups, many of them offshoots of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS), would quickly use the freedom afforded by an American troop pullout to try to launch operations against Western targets.

Some Defense Department officials are now arguing that if all U.S. troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan, an attack on the U.S. could occur within two years.

President Trump had declared his intention to withdraw half of the 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. And he did so even before the announcement of a preliminary framework for a peace agreement with the Taliban. Trump’s declaration surprised his own military chiefs, who had advised against it.

“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” Trump said in the State of the Union address in February.

Some U.S. analysts are concerned that withdrawing U.S. troops as part of a peace deal will allow terrorist groups to once again grow in Afghanistan. 

Last year, Jim Mattis, who was then secretary of defense, pointed to the estimate that some 20 terrorist groups would quickly use the freedom created by an American troop pullout to try to launch operations against Western targets. Many of these groups are offshoots of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS).

Some Defense Department officials are now arguing that if all U.S. troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan, an attack on the U.S. could occur within two years.

James Dobbins, a former top Obama administration official for Afghanistan, says it’s critical that the U.S. remain in Afghanistan while the Taliban and Afghan government negotiate directly and work out an agreement, and leave only when a deal is implemented.

“If we pull out too soon, it means the country descends into civil war and extremist groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State gain new scope for far-flung attacks,” Dobbins says.

Those worries resonate with Afghan government officials, who fear that the Taliban would simply overthrow the existing Afghan government once U.S. troops are no longer there to stop them.   

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has complained that the current negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban have essentially sidelined the Afghan government. Any peace deal must be worked out among Afghans, he says.

“The victims of the war are Afghans,” Ghani says. “So the initiative of peace should be in the hands of Afghans.”

James Dobbins, a former top Obama administration official for Afghanistan, says it’s critical that the U.S. remain in Afghanistan while the Taliban and Afghan government negotiate directly and work out an agreement. He says the U.S. should leave only after a deal is implemented.

“If we pull out too soon, it means the country descends into civil war and extremist groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State gain new scope for far-flung attacks,” Dobbins says.

Those worries resonate with Afghan government officials. They fear that the Taliban would simply overthrow the existing Afghan government once U.S. troops are no longer there to stop them.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has complained that the current negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban have essentially sidelined the Afghan government. Any peace deal must be worked out among Afghans, he says.

“The victims of the war are Afghans,” Ghani says. “So the initiative of peace should be in the hands of Afghans.”

While all Afghans will have to live by any deal made with the Taliban, no group has more to potentially lose than Afghan women. After the Taliban’s ouster, Afghanistan adopted a new constitution that guarantees women’s rights, and there’s been considerable progress for women in recent years. Since the lifting of the Taliban’s ban on education for girls, hundreds of girls schools have been opened. Many women—especially in large cities—have jobs. And women make up more than
a quarter of the members of the country’s parliament.

No one needs to sell Afghan women on the need to end the bloodshed. They have buried many husbands and sons and brothers. But they fear that a peace that empowers the Taliban may mean a new war on women.

“We don’t want a peace that will make the situation worse for women’s rights compared to now,” says Robina Hamdard of the Afghan Women’s Network.

Everyone involved in peace negotiations agrees that the war can end only with a power-sharing deal. That might mean sharing government ministries or territory around the country, or some combination of the two. It might even mean Taliban officials standing for national office—and possibly winning.

And that’s worrisome to Shukria Paykan, another female member of Afghanistan’s parliament.

“We want the Taliban to accept women’s rights and publish a statement where they guarantee women’s rights,” Paykan says.

Jami, the lawmaker whose feet were beaten by the Taliban, expresses a sentiment that might be echoed by many Afghans and by wary American analysts.

“Afghan women want peace too,” she says. “But not at any cost.”

All Afghans will have to live by any deal made with the Taliban. But no group has more to potentially lose than Afghan women. After the Taliban’s removal, Afghanistan adopted a new constitution that guarantees women’s rights. There’s also been considerable progress for women in recent years. Since the lifting of the Taliban’s ban on education for girls, hundreds of girls schools have been opened. Many women, especially in large cities, have jobs. And women make up more than a quarter of the members of the country’s parliament.

No one needs to sell Afghan women on the need to end the bloodshed. They have buried many husbands and sons and brothers. But they fear that a peace that empowers the Taliban may mean a new war on women.

“We don’t want a peace that will make the situation worse for women’s rights compared to now,” says Robina Hamdard of the Afghan Women’s Network.

Everyone involved in peace negotiations agrees that the war can end only with a power-sharing deal. That might mean sharing government ministries or territory around the country, or some combination of the two. It might even mean Taliban officials running for national office and possibly winning.

And that’s worrisome to Shukria Paykan, another female member of Afghanistan’s parliament.

“We want the Taliban to accept women’s rights and publish a statement where they guarantee women’s rights,” Paykan says.

Jami, the lawmaker whose feet were beaten by the Taliban, expresses a sentiment that might be echoed by many Afghans and by wary American analysts.

“Afghan women want peace too,” she says. “But not at any cost.”

With reporting by The New York Times.

With reporting by The New York Times.