US-Taliban Peace process: Post-Withdrawal Scenarios

Abstract

Afghanistan encountered a US-led invasion in 2001 in response to the 9/11 attacks and ended the Taliban's government in Afghanistan. Thousands of US troops were deployed on Afghan territory in the war against terrorism to direct anti-terrorism operations in Afghanistan and to contain Talibanization. Thus, the immediate objective of the US invasion of Afghanistan was to prevent the country from terrorism, but the objective remained unachieved to date. As there was a divergence of interests of involved actors, and thus the efforts could not reach the desired result. The US in Afghanistan has exerted influence for almost two decades.Thereby, both the warring sides have now decided on a political settlement and a permanent ceasefire. The agreement took place on February 29, 2020, and its provisions include the withdrawal of all US troops and NATO forces from Afghanistan. Thereby objective and significance of the study are contributed to assess the post-withdrawal scenarios.