The US and Taliban have signed a peace deal that could hail the end of an 18 year conflict that has ravaged Afghanistan.
American and NATO troops will withdraw within 14 months if the Taliban upholds its commitments to renounce ties to terrorist groups and hold talks with the Afghan government.
The two sides met in the Qatari capital of Doha to sign the historic accord, which lays out a timetable for a full US draw-down from its longest-ever war.
However, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the nation ‘will not hesitate to nullify’ its agreement with the Taliban if the insurgents renege on their security guarantees.
Former President George W Bush first sent forces to topple the Taliban in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The deal will set up a fall in US troop numbers from about 12,000 to 8,600 in the coming weeks. Further reductions of Western forces will hinge on the Taliban adhering to a ‘reduction in violence’ pledge – a condition that will be assessed by Washington.
The signing could help President Donald Trump fulfil a key campaign promise to extract America from its ‘endless wars’.
The US leader said: ‘If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home.
‘Ultimately it will be up to the people of Afghanistan to work out their future. We, therefore, urge the Afghan people to seize this opportunity for peace and a new future for their country.’
The Taliban harboured Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network as they plotted and then celebrated the hijackings of four airliners that were crashed into The Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a field in western Pennsylvania, killing almost 3,000 people.
It only took a matter of months to topple the Taliban when America invaded, but the war dragged on for two decades as the US tried establish a stable, functioning state in one of the least developed countries in the world
Attempts to rebuild the country became bogged down in corruption and insurgency despite America pouring an estimated $750 billion (£584) into the campaign.
The Taliban regrouped, and currently hold sway over half the country.
Under the agreement, the Taliban promise not to let extremists use the country as a staging ground for attacking the US or its allies. It sets the stage for peace talks involving Afghan factions, which are likely to be complicated.
Other terms include the release of 5,000 Taliban supporters from Afghan-run prisons. There are also questions about whether Taliban fighters loyal to various warlords will be willing to disarm.
It’s also not clear what implication the agreement will have on Women’s rights in Afghanistan. Some gains were made after the toppling of the Taliban, which had repressed women and girls under a strict brand of Sharia law.
The issue had been a top concern of both the Bush and Obama administration, but it remains a deeply conservative country, with women still struggling for basic rights.
Since the start of negotiations with the Taliban, the US has stepped up its air assaults on the Taliban as well as a local Islamic State affiliate.
Last year the US air force dropped more bombs on Afghanistan than in any year since 2013.
Seven days ago, the Taliban began a seven-day ‘reduction of violence’ period, a prerequisite to the peace deal signing.
Ahead of the signing, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: ‘The road to peace will be long and hard and there will be setbacks, and there is a risk always for spoilers.
‘But the thing is, we are committed, the Afghan people are committed to peace, and we will continue to provide support.’
