Peace Unravels in Afghanistan as U.S. Carries Out Defensive Attack on Taliban

Hopes for peace in Afghanistan appeared on the verge of collapse on Wednesday after the U.S. confirmed it carried out airstrikes against the Taliban in response to repeated attacks by the insurgent network against U.S.-backed forces there.

American warplanes targeted the fighters in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province after they attacked an Afghan security forces' checkpoint. A U.S. spokesman described the attack as a "defensive strike" and the first in 11 days.

The strike came four days after the U.S. and the Taliban signed a historic but seemingly imperiled peace deal, which came under almost immediate criticism from allies including the U.S.-backed government in Kabul which bristled at provisions it did not approve, including releasing 5,000 Taliban prisoners.

Since signing the deal, the Taliban has resumed an offensive against the Afghan government forces, carrying out 43 attacks on checkpoints in Helmand alone, U.S. Forces–Afghanistan spokesman Army Col. Sonny Leggett wrote in a series of tweets.

"The Taliban claim to be fighting to free Afghanistan from international forces," Leggett wrote. "The Feb. 29 agreement provides a conditions-based path to withdrawal."

Local reports indicate the Taliban attacks throughout the country this week have killed more than two dozen Afghan troops.

"The Taliban leadership promised the international community they would reduce violence and not increase attacks. We call on the Taliban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments. As we have demonstrated, we will defend our partners when required," Leggett wrote.

The U.S. and the Afghan government have complied with the peace deal, he added. "The Talibs appear intent on squandering this opportunity and ignoring the will of the people for peace."

Many analysts expressed skepticism at the prospect of success for the agreement that U.S. and Taliban delegates signed in Doha, Qatar on Saturday. Notably absent from the final deal was a representative of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, whose government the insurgent network has previously refused to recognize as anything but a puppet regime of Washington's. Some suggest the Taliban's willingness to agree to a peace deal represents a recognition that it could chip away at U.S. support for the government in Kabul by offering a seemingly honorable path to withdrawal after more than 18 years of war.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the next steps of the agreement call for an "intra-Afghan dialogue" to work out the details of a peace agreement that would allow U.S. combat troops to leave.

President Donald Trump and Pompeo have framed the agreement as a historic achievement out of the reach of prior U.S. presidential administrations that have attempted to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Despite the uptick in violence earlier in the week, Trump expressed optimism on Tuesday shortly after confirming he had a phone conversation with the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. The call marked the first time a U.S. president had spoken directly with a Taliban leader since the conflict began.

"They're looking to get this ended. We're looking to get this ended," Trump said during a roundtable event at the National Institutes of Health regarding the spread of the coronavirus. "The country really has to get this ended."

"The relationship is very good that I have with the mullah," he said.

U.S. military leaders, however, have tempered expectations about the prospect for peace.

"To think that there's going to be an absolute cessation of violence in Afghanistan, that is probably not going to happen," Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon alongside Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday.

"To think that it's going to go to zero immediately, that is probably not going to happen. It's probably not going to go to zero."

When asked Tuesday about Ghani's reticence at the release of Taliban prisoners, Trump said, "They may be reluctant. They've done very well with the U.S. for many years, far beyond military if you look at all the money we've spent in Afghanistan."