*The U.S. policy, war, and the need for the Doha Agreement:* After the Cold War, U.S. policy underwent a complete transformation, creating an opportunity for it to take the lead in global leadership. The U.S. invaded Arab and Asian countries under the pretext of legal support from the United Nations and military cooperation with NATO, with Afghanistan being among the countries occupied in this series of invasions.
The U.S. occupied weak countries under the guise of promoting liberal democracy, free markets, and the private sector while ostensibly combating fundamentalism, extremism, terrorism, and the global threat of communism and discrediting Islam.
America, like the Soviet Union, had initiated an unequal war against the Afghans by occupying Afghanistan. Essentially, this was a continuation of the cycle of wars that had begun in Afghanistan. America already knew that the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union had revived their zeal and that they would stand against any occupation. To extinguish this jihadist fervor, they waged a psychological war alongside the military conflict.
But the actions, deeds, and atrocities of the occupying forces and mercenaries on the battlefield had diminished the impact of the foreigners’ psychological warfare. On one hand, they were propagating for their own benefit and against the jihadist groups, while on the other hand, they were martyring, imprisoning, and torturing civilians. They did not refrain from any tactic of torturing, killing, and oppressing the Afghan people.
After the fall of the Taliban’s first rule, the Taliban movement had weakened, but the behavior of the Americans and their allies was strengthening the Taliban’s ranks day by day. The Taliban had adopted a popular color, the intensity of the war and the weakness of the mercenary administration were paving the way for transformations, and the Americans had failed in their analyses regarding Afghanistan, a failure they witnessed with their own eyes.
The invasion of Afghanistan was not the first American invasion; rather, there were previous examples of their shameful defeats in Vietnam and other countries. They had also been defeated in Afghanistan, which is why they chose the path of negotiations. The negotiations were a necessity due to America’s defeat; they had to make concessions to leave Afghanistan and maintain their lost reputation in some form.
*Peace:* Peace was the name that attracted everyone’s attention in the final days of the fallen republic, but different groups promoted it with different meanings. However, peace must be defined to clarify its true meaning. One comprehensive definition of peace is: “هو رَفعُ الحربِ و المُخاصَمَات علی شروطٍ تُعرَفُ بشروطِ الصلحِ، او هو عقد یرفع النزاعَ.” Peace, which ends war, conflict, and disputes through conditions known as peace terms, is the same whether the dispute is verbal or armed.
*The parties to the conflict:* The parties to the war in Afghanistan were a contentious issue, as many mentioned three parties in Afghanistan’s two-decade-long conflict, the United States, the Taliban, and the republican regime. However, this is incorrect; the parties to the war were only the Americans and the Taliban. The republican regime was under the United States’ control and could only have been considered a party to the war if it had been independent. Of course, it was involved in this conflict as a part because its internal security forces and some organizations were under its control, and it had very little power. For this reason, it was also involved in one part of the Doha Agreement.
Signing of the agreement and key points: Several rounds of lengthy negotiations were held between the United States and the Taliban. As a result of these prolonged discussions, an agreement was signed between the United States and the Taliban on the 10th of Hoot 1399, which corresponds to the 29th of February 2020.
The Doha Agreement consists of the following four main parts: 1. The guarantees and enforcement mechanisms that prevent any group or individual from using Afghan territory against the security of the United States and its allies. 2. Guarantees, enforcement mechanisms, and the announcement of a schedule for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan. 3. After the announcement of the guarantees and schedule for the complete withdrawal of foreign forces in the presence of international witnesses, and the guarantees of not using the Afghan territory against the United States and its allies, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will begin intra-Afghan negotiations with Afghan factions. 4. A permanent and comprehensive ceasefire will be a subject on the agenda of intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations. Participants in the intra-Afghan negotiations will discuss the date and manner of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, including joint enforcement mechanisms, and will announce it as part of the completion and agreement on Afghanistan’s future political map.
*Obstacles:* The four parts mentioned above in the Doha Agreement were interconnected and should have been implemented sequentially according to the schedule. However, the parts of the agreement that are detailed in the text have not yet been implemented. The main factors preventing this implementation are the lack of commitment from the United States and the collapse of the Republic due to Ashraf Ghani’s flight.
An important part of the Doha Agreement was that all Taliban leaders would be removed from the blacklists of the United States and international organizations, but due to the U.S. government’s lack of commitment to the Doha Agreement, Taliban officials are still on the sanctions lists.
Similarly, Ashraf Ghani’s flight, which led to the collapse of the republic, the escape of government officials, and the disintegration of some state institutions, completely challenged the intra-Afghan negotiations clause in the Doha agreement and the republic no longer remained a small part of Afghanistan’s problem.
Ashraf Ghani, his close circle, some former warlords, and certain figures from the republican regime’s intra-Afghan negotiation team were war enthusiasts; they opposed peace in one way or another because the end of the occupation and the establishment of a system in Afghanistan that would cut off the flow of black money to war-loving figures were at stake.
The intra-Afghan negotiations are a clause of the Doha Agreement that has seen very little implementation due to existing obstacles; there are many points regarding these negotiations, but we will mention three: 1. The Republic regime sent a team to Doha composed of incompetent, young individuals divided among parties and power factions, who were not equal to the Taliban delegation in any political aspect and had no capacity for negotiations with them; however, all of this was done intentionally. 2. Besides the issue of releasing five thousand prisoners, the Republic also used force, violence, and intensity on the battle lines and made statements on stage that instead of promoting peace and closeness, paved the way for hatred, war, and opposition; this issue primarily turns to Ashraf Ghani and his close team as the Supreme Commander, as they had no intention of peace but were thirsty for power and completing their five-year term. 3. The reason for the disappearance of the intra-Afghan negotiations clause in the Doha Agreement was Ashraf Ghani’s escape, along with his team and high-ranking officials, the disbanding of security organs, and the creation of a power vacuum, which led to the collapse of the regime known as the Republic. With its collapse, the Republic regime could no longer remain as a party in solving Afghanistan’s twenty-year dilemma.
*The Doha Agreement as a Connecting Bridge:* The Doha Agreement, due to its unique historical significance and diplomatic relevance, serves as an important way of communication and interaction between the United States and the Islamic Emirate. Analysts believe that in the future, the Doha Agreement and the political office in Qatar may also serve as a bridge for the expansion of other significant political and economic relations between the Islamic Emirate and the United States, facilitating interactions between the two governments. Over the past three years, various developments have occurred through this way, including meetings between senior U.S. officials and some officials of the Islamic Emirate, the release of some important Afghan detainees from Guantanamo prison, and other notable advancements.
*The Failed Efforts of Exiled Politicians:* Recently, exiled former political figures, officials, and politicians have held meetings under various titles. In these meetings, they have attempted to present themselves as a strong entity in front of the Afghan caretaker government under titles such as “Afghanistan after the Taliban,” resolving the Afghan issue, and others. Some of them emphasize the initiation of intra-Afghan negotiations and seek to restart these negotiations, aiming to gain partial authority in Afghanistan and secure their personal interests through this means.
But after the fall of the republican regime in Kabul, the U.S. policy has changed. U.S. policymakers have concluded that the caretaker government is now a powerful and legitimate government. Its opposing factions do not have the capacity to pose a serious challenge to this government or to negotiate with the Islamic Emirate as a unified entity. Rather, many countries around the world now believe that the current caretaker government and the Afghan people should receive economic support, political relations should be expanded, sanctions on trade and travel should be lifted, and Afghans with clean records who are not stained with anyone’s blood should be included in governance.
Additionally, some factions are trying to portray the Doha Agreement as a flawed and destructive agreement for Afghanistan through misleading propaganda. However, the significance of the Doha Agreement is immense in itself, as it marked the end of the U.S. and NATO occupation in Afghanistan and brought about numerous other political changes. The fact that some factions make incorrect statements about it is because their accounts have been frozen due to these political changes, and their personal interests are at risk.
*Solutions:* The Doha Agreement was the beginning of transformations in Afghanistan. To make the most of this agreement and ensure it is acceptable to all parties, several solutions exist: 1. To address all existing concerns of the international community, the trips of the caretaker government’s officials are very important. Therefore, all officials of the Islamic Emirate should be removed from the blacklist so that all issues can be resolved through diplomatic relations instead of war. 2. Afghanistan has faced economic weakness for decades; to improve the economic situation of Afghans, the world should support the caretaker government’s plans for Afghanistan’s economic stability. 3. The world should work with the caretaker government to find solutions to prevent the threat from groups that are a concern regarding Afghanistan’s territory. 4. The world, especially the United States, should play its role in preventing all those groups and factions that promote insecurity in Afghanistan.
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