Rushed US-Taliban deal -- a victory for Islamists? (DW)
Deutsche Welle
Asia
28/02/2020 | Shamil Shams
The US and the Taliban are set to sign an agreement on Saturday to end the 18-year-long war in Afghanistan. But analysts say it comes with many concessions for the insurgent group. Shamil Shams reports from Doha.
... Afghanistan experts say the deal is mainly about the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan — a key Taliban demand since the start of the conflict in 2001. President Trump needs to bring the troops back to American soil to boost his reelection chances this year, they say. It is one of the reasons behind a "rushed deal."
"We are concerned about the ambiguity of the deal and how scant information the people in Afghanistan have about what is being agreed upon between the US and the Taliban," Humaira Saqib, a Kabul-based rights activist, told DW.
... "We have not invited the Afghan government delegation to Doha. If the US has invited them, it does not concern us," Sohail Shaheen, the Taliban's spokesman in Doha and a member of the group's negotiating team, told DW. "We will proceed according to the framework agreed in the deal with the US. The framework is clear — we'll first sign the deal, which will be followed by a trust-building phase," Shaheen said. "During the trust-building phase, 5,000 of our prisoners in Afghan jails, and 1,000 prisoners who belong to the Afghan government, will be released. Only after these steps can an intra-Afghan dialogue start."
https://www.dw.com/en/us-taliban-deal-a-victory-for-islamists/a-52573881
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Such a "dealmaker"!!!1!! Only the best deals! No Afghan delegation allowed! Peace in our time!!1! 
