KABUL — The United States has agreed to sign a peace deal with the Taliban so long as the Taliban agrees to maintain a permanent state of war with the United States, officials from both sides announced today.
Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy who has worked on the peace talks, outlined the new position during a press conference.
"Our only red line is that the U.S. does not have to withdraw its force from Afghanistan and we can keep fighting," he told assembled reporters.
"Women's rights, detainees, even the support to Al Qaeda, we can sort all of that later. The main thing is that we reach a deal that will enable U.S. forces to continue fighting in Afghanistan forever. If the Taliban can agree to that, we can make a peace deal."
