Talking to the Taliban: peace at what price?

Donald Trump is becoming increasingly impatient about removing all US troops from Afghanistan, 18 years after the invasion that followed September 11. As peace talks continue, Fawzia Koofi, a female Afghan MP, describes being in the room with the Taliban, while the Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison examines the slow progress for women’s rights that could be at risk when international forces leave. Plus: Gary Younge on knife crime

Donald Trump has become increasingly impatient to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, a war he sees as having failed and a considers a continuing financial drain. But after more than 17 years of conflict, with at least 38,000 civilians killed and millions more injured or displaced, removing troops is a process fraught with risk.

The Afghan MP Fawzia Koofi took part in recent talks with the Taliban in Moscow and, having fought for a female presence around the table, she was insistent that women’s rights were not discarded in the process. Meanwhile, the Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison discusses the slow improvement in women’s rights since the Taliban was ousted from government and how securing these was a key objective for the US.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Unop3y

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