The Taliban and the US: accepting the inevitable

International funding: After 17 years of death and destruction, Afghanistan will need billions in financial aid for reconstruction, rehabilitation, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and housing. Indeed, any peace agreement will collapse under continuing economic distress. The US and the EU, in particular, must provide significant financial aid to help the country stand on its feet. Indeed, instead of continuing to spend billions on the war effort, the US' financial assistance will be of better use in reconstruction efforts.

Allowing for more time: Many hurdles are still in the way of reaching a sustainable peace in Afghanistan, but to prevent such potential obstacles from scuttling a lasting deal, the Trump administration should give time for the current negotiations to settle several intractable time-consuming issues and develop a shared political vision for the future of the country.

Ironically, following the 9/11 attack 17 years ago, the Bush administration demanded that the then-Taliban government prevent any violent extremists, such as al-Qaeda, from planning attacks against the US, which the Taliban refused, leading to the Afghanistan war. Sadly, it took the death of 2,300 American soldiers and tens of thousands of Afghans, and more than a trillion dollars, to accept the inevitable by reaching today's agreement which is based on the very same principles.

It will be tragic if either the US or the Taliban squanders this initial agreement, because the alternative is more death and destruction. Although the US must end this consuming war, it should not withdraw precipitously and leave swirling instability in its wake, which will severely undermine the US' geostrategic interests.