Thoughts of Peace, Uniting Fighters Fade Away with Afghan Violence

 

Chances for peace in Afghanistan appeared less likely this week after another suicide bomb attack. At least 15 people were killed in the bombing Thursday in the country’s south. The Taliban claimed responsibility. More than 70 people have died across the country in suicide attacks this week.

The violence is expected to increase as Taliban forces have said they will attack voting centers before Afghanistan’s planned presidential elections.

The bombings include an attack earlier this week targeting President Ashraf Ghani. They follow the collapse² of peace talks between the United States and the Taliban.

Some observers worry that the growing anger and hatred³ may make any peace deal even more difficult to negotiate.

United States officials are concerned about what would happen to the Taliban’s 60,000 full-time⁴ fighters. If a deal can be reached, they would be forced to put down their weapons and find a new way to live within the communities they once battled.

The reintegration of former fighters “will be critical for Afghanistan to (find) lasting⁵ peace… a goal crucial to U.S., coalition⁶ and Afghan interests,” says a new report. It comes from the Office of the Special Inspector⁷ General for Afghanistan Reconstruction⁸ (SIGAR), an agency of the U.S. government.

How to employ former fighters?

The difficulty of reintegration will be a test for any peace deal. In addition to the full-time Taliban fighters, U.S. officials estimate there are 90,000 seasonal⁹ fighters who will need to find other work.

But Afghanistan’s economy is struggling. Economic difficulties have been brought on by drought conditions as well as low growth and high unemployment.

U.S. officials also worry about government corruption¹⁰ and the appeal of criminals who profit from illegal drugs.

Put together, it is enough for SIGAR to warn that conditions are not right for “a successful reintegration program.”

If there ever is a peace deal, the failure to reintegrate tens of thousands of Taliban fighters would be costly¹¹.

Without jobs and social support, former Taliban fighters might find “criminal groups or terrorist organizations” appealing, the report warns.

Peace talks dead

However, the problem of reintegration of former fighters may be far off.

This week the U.S. government called the latest Taliban attacks “cowardly.” President Donald Trump¹² “has made clear that he will not negotiate a peace agreement while the Taliban continues such attacks,” officials said.

Also, Afghan government officials have been unhappy about the way the talks between U.S. and Taliban representatives were organized. The Afghan government was cut out of the talks.

The Afghan ambassador to the United States, Roya Rahmani, said last week: “We know peace is on the horizon…we also know it will come on our terms.”

Forcing US out

Separately, the Taliban have been reaching out to Russia, China and Iran in the hopes of finding ways to force U.S. forces to leave Afghanistan.

“The purpose of these visits is to inform leaders of these countries about the peace talks and President Trump’s decision to call off the peace process,” a Taliban official in Qatar said on Wednesday. He added that Trump’s decision to cancel a meeting with Taliban negotiators came just as both sides were about to sign a deal.

The developments have some former U.S. military officials warning that reintegration may not be possible in the near future.

“I never thought negotiations¹³ with the Taliban were a good way to go,” retired¹⁴ Admiral William McRaven said Wednesday.

McRaven is a former U.S. Special Operations Command Commander. He is best known for directing the raid that led to the death of al-Qaida founder¹⁵ Osama bin¹ Laden¹⁶ in Pakistan in 2011.

McRaven warned that the U.S. military will have to stay in Afghanistan to contain the Taliban for years to come. A deal with the Taliban and the withdrawal¹⁷ of U.S. troops from Afghanistan would mean ”it won’t be six months or a year before all the blood and treasure we have put into Afghanistan will have been reversed,” he said.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

reintegration – n. returning people to their original society or status

crucial – adj. of great importance to success

drought – n. a long period without rain

cowardly – adj. fearful; opposite of bravery

horizon – n. the line where the earth or sea seems to meet the sky, in the near future

reverse – v. to go backwards, to return to earlier conditions

1 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

8 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

9 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

13 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。

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

16 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

17 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。