This Wednesday, there will be a meeting in Pakistan between both sides of the Afghan peace process, as well as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. This meeting is one of countless meetings that have been had between leaders of the Taliban group and the Afghan government. The two parties are trying to find a way to achieve peace in Afghanistan and its surrounding countries. The Afghan government wants to discuss a ceasefire, and stop violence in their country, whereas the Taliban says ceasefire discussion is not a priority and should be made later. Leaders of both parties will meet and discuss further action and agreements to hopefully further the journey towards peace.
The United States has been urging the Afghan government to make a political settlement with the Taliban to cease fighting between the two groups. The US recently began taking troops out of Afghanistan, in an effort to save American lives and create less stimulation in the war zone. The US involvement in terrorism in the Middle East is interesting, because there are always different motives for an American presence. As a global superpower, some may argue that it is the United States job to intervene in situations like this, and try to maintain global peace. However, in this situation, I think the United States has better luck simply advising, rather than sending troops in and increasing warfare.
In this situation, a realist may agree that pulling US troops out of Afghanistan is the right decision, as the US doesn’t have much personal gain from intervening in their war. Someone who takes a more liberal point of view may argue that by intervening and aiding Afghanistan in keeping peace, the US is aiding in the effort towards world peace, which is beneficial to all. From either point of view, US involvement in the Middle East is a very complex issue, with lots of different ideas and opinions on it. Hopefully these meetings will make progress towards peace in Afghanistan, and war will decrease.