Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

I have come to realize that U.S. cannot abandon the Afghan government. We would lose all credibility if we did. On July 25, in the rapid damage control that followed Trump's faux pas about killing 10 million Afghans, Pompeo and Ghani issued a joint statement agreeing to accelerate peace talks, but it was eerie because Ghani isn't in the peace talks. How can he accelerate something that other people are doing?

The Taliban has made it crystal clear that they won't work with Ghani. They won't recognize the Afghan government; they won't join it; they won't start running in elections. They want all foreign troops out, and they want the current Afghan government to disband, to dissolve, to disintegrate.  

But apparently, we think we can convince them to do otherwise, to accept a coalition with the current government. But, why do we think that? - especially when they have been so adamant. 

It can only be one thing: money. We must have plans to offer them a gargantuan amount of it, where we not only only offer to pay them directly a massive sum, but offer to basically rebuild the whole country- if only they will work with the current government. 

But, it is terribly naive. They will never do it.  They are killing those people, day in and day out. 

 8 killed, 5 wounded as check post overrun in Ghor

14 killed and wounded, equipment seized as post overrun in Maiwand

 Check post assaulted in Qalat, 5 killed

Commander among 5 killed and wounded in Herat

6 killed and wounded in Bala Baluk operations

Over 15 killed and wounded, 2 APCs destroyed in Farah blasts
That's just a partial list of what they reported today. Tomorrow, it will be a new list. They are not going to reverse themselves. They are not going to work with the government. There is no way they could even explain it. Alas,  there is no basis to think that a peace deal is in the offing.