WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2020) The US military will likely occupy Afghanistan indefinitely despite President Donald Trump's new peace pact with the Taliban because of pressure from the American establishment amid a prolonged drawdown, analysts told Sputnik.
US and Taliban officials signed an agreement in Doha on Saturday that calls for Washington to withdraw troops over the next 14 months and the commencement of intra-Afghan talks.
"As it is a phased plan the ultimate result will not be really visible until a year or more down the road, with US troop strength still at pre-Trump levels until after the [2020 US] election," former CIA officer Phil Giraldi told Sputnik. "Trump will certainly be under pressure to wind up with an Iraq-type solution - in other words, occupation light."
Earlier on Monday, Afghanistan's Tolo news said the Taliban has ordered the commencement of offensive operations, bringing an end to a 7-day truce.
Historian and former US commander in Iraq Doug Macgregor told Sputnik that Pakistan poses another potential obstacle to a successful peace deal since the agreement depends on Islamabad's willingness to compel the Taliban to back the accord.
"The 14 month postponement of withdrawal prolongs the hemorrhage of money into the Afghan money pit and creates the possibility that the Neocons may find another way to delay our departure," Macgregor said.
Neocons or neoconservatives, refers to a loose but influential group of US military hawks that actively promote military intervention in nations that are hostile to Washington.
Earlier on Monday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rejected a key measure in the accord, a prisoner exchange freeing 5,000 Taliban fighters held by the government.
Meanwhile, the agreement calls for the Taliban to begin negotiating directly with Ghani's government, something the Islamist group has thus far refused to do, claiming the government is a puppet of Washington.
