Afghan Peace Talks in Moscow
After sitting down with American negotiators in Qatar, the Taliban will join Russia and the United States in upcoming peace talks in Moscow. The Afghan president will not attend, though his political rivals will. The goal is to end the long-running war. Russia and the United States are promoting two different plans for peace. The Afghan government is internally divided on the proposals.
Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Download the PowerPoint Lecture Spark for Afghan Peace Talks in Moscow
Links
“Kabul ‘regrets’ Taliban-Afghan opposition talks in Russia”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/kabul-regrets-taliban-afghan-opposition-talks-moscow-190204145837603.html
“As Trump seeks an exit from Afghanistan, Moscow steps in”
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/05/europe/russia-afghanistan-moscow-meeting-intl/index.html
“Taliban insists on foreign-troop withdrawal at Moscow talks”
https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-insisting-on-foreign-troop-withdrawal-at-moscow-intra-afghan-talks/29754755.html
“Taliban ‘not seeking to seize all of Afghanistan’”
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47139908
“Taliban claims U.S. agreed to major Afghan withdrawal in 2 months”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taliban-us-afghanistan-withdrawal-forces-donald-trump-peace-state-of-the-union/
“US, Taliban, Afghanistan peace talks: timing is critical”
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/us-taliban-afghanistan-peace-talks-timing-critical
“The Guardian view on Afghanistan talks: hopes for peace, but at what cost?”
hhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/06/the-guardian-view-on-afghanistan-talks-hopes-for-peace-but-at-what-cost
“Tough-talking: On Taliban reconciliation process”
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/tough-talking/article26196680.ece
“Democrats: Afghan peace talks must include women”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/05/democrats-afghan-peace-women-1147244
“Peace talks must include Afghan government, retired Gen. Nicholson says”
https://www.npr.org/2019/02/05/691521586/peace-talks-must-include-afghan-government-retired-gen-nicholson-says
Assessment
- Writing: Why are foreign troops still in Afghanistan?
- Debate: The US should withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, even without a peace deal.
- Poll: Do you believe a peace conference on Afghanistan can only succeed if the government of Afghanistan is both united and in attendance?
- Short Answer: Why is the president of Afghanistan not attending the peace talks in Moscow?
Current events quiz:
1) What is the Taliban?
a. An Islamic fundamentalist group that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001
b. The ruling party of Afghanistan
c. A sector of the Islamic religion
d. A continuously U.S. backed Middle Eastern political party
2) Where is the Taliban based?
a. Turkey
b. Iraq
c. Pakistan
d. Afghanistan
3) Which three groups/countries will be speaking at these peace talks?
a. Afghanistan, the Taliban, and the United Kingdom
b. Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Taliban
c. The United States, Afghanistan, and the Taliban
d. ISIS, Afghanistan, and the Taliban
4) The Taliban and ISIS are the same thing. (T/F)
5) Both sides want to end the 17-year war. (T/F)
6) The United States wants to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. (T/F)
Answers:
1) A
2) D
3) C
4) F
5) T
6) T
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