塔利班宣布与美国第八轮谈判结束 未达成撤军协议

No Deal Announced as US, Taliban End Latest Talks

The latest talks between the Taliban and the United States ended early Monday without any sign of a peace deal for Afghanistan. Both sides said they would talk to their leaders about the next move.

This was the eighth round of discussions between the sides.

A Taliban spokesman said last week that the talks would finish with a deal to end the nearly 18-year-long Afghan war. The negotiators have been discussing an agreement that would require the U. S. military to withdraw from Afghanistan. Under the agreement, the Taliban would promise not to use the country to launch terrorist attacks.

The latest talks began on August 3 in the Gulf¹ nation of Qatar. U.S. official Zalmay Khalilzad described the negotiations² as “productive.” He said he was returning to Washington D.C. for meetings with U.S. officials.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid called the discussions “long and useful.” But neither of the representatives offered details of the talks.

The Taliban has launched near-daily attacks across Afghanistan while negotiations with U.S. officials continue. The attacks mainly target Afghan forces and government officials, but they also kill many civilians³.

The U.S. government has pushed for a ceasefire and plans for inter-Afghan talks. But the Taliban has refused to recognize the Afghan government, calling it a U.S. puppet.

On Sunday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rejected foreign interference in his country. The president is angry that he is not a full negotiating partner in the talks.

Ghani says the elections planned for September 28 will give the next government power to decide the country’s future. But Khalilzad wants a peace deal by September 1, weeks before the vote.

The Taliban says the elections are a sham⁴. The group has told Afghan citizens to avoid campaign events and has warned them not to vote. Taliban forces control about 50 percent of the country.

The Taliban is the strongest it has been since the U.S.-led invasion ended its five-year government in 2001. Former U.S. President George W. Bush ordered the invasion after the group aided al-Qaida.

More than 2,400 American soldiers have died in Afghanistan since then. The United States and NATO forces officially ended combat operations in 2014. However, around 20,000 U.S. and allied⁵ troops remain in the country.

Khalilzad wrote on Sunday that he hoped this year would be the last Eid al-Adha in which Afghanistan is at war. The Muslim holiday began over the weekend. The Taliban released a message that said it hoped future Eids would be without “occupation” in “peace and unity⁶.”

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words In This Story

round – n.a series of calls or stops; a series of repeated actions or events

puppet–n. a doll that is controlled by someone else

sham– n.a false show or event

combat– adj.relating to battle

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

5 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。