Despite encouraging words from the Taliban in the latest round of negotiations, former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker has warned against trusting them.
In a column for The Washington Post, Crocker, who has also served as ambassador to Pakistan, Syria and Iraq, wrote: "By acceding to this Taliban demand (for talks without the Afghan government), we have ourselves delegitimized the government we claim to support."
The former ambassador explained that "it was clear that by going to the table we were surrendering; we were just negotiating the terms of our surrender. The Taliban will offer any number of commitments, knowing that when we are gone and the Taliban is back, we will have no means of enforcing any of them."
Crocker also emphasized that "in Afghanistan, President [Donld] Trump has a choice. He can follow [former President Barack] Obama's example and leave the country to the Taliban, or he can make clear that the United States has interests, values and allies, and will stand behind them."
CBS News national security contributor Michael Morell, who was former acting director of the CIA, also warned against trusting the Taliban.
He said that the withdrawal of American troops could allow al-Qaida to once again become a threat both in the country and abroad.
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