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The U.S. and the Taliban have struck a deal that paves the way for eventual peace in Afghanistan. U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the head of the militant Islamist group, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed the potentially historic agreement Saturday in Doha, Qatar, where the two sides spent months hashing out its details.

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Originally posted by wtg:
The Afghan president made it a point to thank the American people and especially Gold Star families. He was quite eloquent.

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ZAKARIA: Mr. President, a pleasure to have you on. Thank you, sir.

GHANI: Thank you for the opportunity and let me thank the American people for their long engagement and for their belief in the rights of women and children, and the support that they've extended. And particularly let me thank the Gold Star families whose loved ones paid the ultimate sacrifice. I hope the two democracies, an established democracy and an aspiring democracy, can work together to contain the threats to U.S. homeland and to our freedom.

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The U.S. government has collected persuasive intelligence that the Taliban do not intend to honor the promises they have made in the recently signed deal with the United States, three American officials tell NBC News, undercutting what has been days of hopeful talk by President Donald Trump and his top aides.

"They have no intention of abiding by their agreement," said one official briefed on the intelligence, which two others described as explicit evidence shedding light on the Taliban's intentions.

Trump himself acknowledged that reality in extraordinary comments Friday, saying the Taliban could "possibly" overrun the Afghan government after U.S. troops withdraw.

"Countries have to take care of themselves," Trump told reporters at the White House. "You can only hold someone's hand for so long." Asked if the Taliban could eventually seize power, Trump said it's "not supposed to happen that way, but it possibly will."

The intelligence described by the American officials is consistent with what Taliban sources have been saying in Pakistan. Those Taliban representatives say the group views the peace process as a way of securing the withdrawal of American "occupiers," after which it will attack the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan.

"'We will ask the Afghan leadership and other political factions that since the U.S. has accepted us and recognized our position, it is time for you to accept us and give us the country peacefully," said one Taliban member, who was not authorized to speak to the media.

The agreement signed Saturday envisions something very different. In exchange for an American pledge to withdraw all troops in 14 months, the Taliban promised to stop harboring terrorists and to enter into peace talks with an Afghan government-led delegation.

"Look, we all hope they follow through with their side of the agreement, but we believe we know their true intentions," one official familiar with the intelligence said.

A former U.S. official directly familiar with planning acknowledged that the administration understands the risks of a "Vietnam War" style ending to the war in Afghanistan, in which the Taliban renege on the deal and overrun the country. But no one is saying that publicly.

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As U.S. and Taliban negotiators celebrated the signing of a peace deal in Doha, for many in Kabul, the agreement felt like a betrayal. After more than 18 years of a U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, the document seeking to end it made no mention of any of the ideals once touted by the conflict's supporters and architects.

The deal, signed Feb. 29 in Qatar’s capital, also leaves the Afghan government in a weakened position as it prepares for its own round of talks with the Taliban, according to the Afghan officials and analysts.

The provisions included a commitment to a controversial prisoner swap that robs the government of key leverage before the talks, which had been scheduled to begin by Tuesday. And a reference to the Taliban as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” is seen as giving the group greater legitimacy, despite language that the United States does not recognize any such political standing.

“We were thrown under the bus for a photo op and a handshake,” said a senior Afghan government official.

He complained that the deal did not extract enough concessions from the Taliban, and instead made controversial pledges on behalf of the Afghan government. The result, he said, is the Taliban will probably enter talks with the Afghan government from a stronger negotiating position.

Many Afghans who see themselves most closely allied with American values — and most dependent on U.S. support — fear they have the most to lose from the peace deal. Supporters of women’s rights, civil society and some sectors of the country’s political and security establishment described reading the deal with a mix of disbelief and anger.

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Democracy and women’s rights were the ideals described as central to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan following the launch of the war after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks. For years, the Taliban had given haven to Osama bin Laden and other top leaders of al-Qaeda.

In his State of the Union address the following year, President George W. Bush cited advances in women’s rights.

“The last time we met in this chamber, the mothers and daughters of Afghanistan were captives in their own homes, forbidden from working or going to school. Today women are free,” he said in 2002.

More than 18 years later, Shogofa Danish is one of many Afghan women who say they have seen the benefits of the freedoms brought with the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. But the peace deal signed in Doha filled her with dread.

“This is my dream job,” she said, speaking from the slick studios of Tolo broadcasting in Kabul, where she presents the news in Dari. “I don’t want to go back. I want this life.”

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Trump's peace deal with the Taliban fails again — and this time Republicans take notice
Trump cut a secret deal to get out of Afghanistan — and for once congressional Republicans are unhappy with him