How can two people fight and make peace simultaneously? That’s exactly what the United States and Taliban are doing right now as they conduct peace negotiations in Qatar, yet constantly counting dead bodies in Afghanistan.

  The U.S. has been fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan for eighteen years, and after several previous attempts, meaningful peace negotiations have picked up steam in the last few months and look to be leading towards an agreement for U.S withdrawal in Afghanistan. However, the violence level in Afghanistan has reached a new high during the course of peace negotiations. Every day, car bombs are being set off in Kabul and insider attacks are occurring in the Kandahar Province. 

  I believe that the U.S. should suspend peace talks until the Taliban honor a cease fire. There have already been sixteen U.S. service members die in Afghanistan, the most since 2014. Per the New York Times, this past week alone there were 110 civilians killed in Afghanistan. Taliban forces are moving swiftly into the northern part of the country, quickly overrunning the weaker Afghan forces. 

  We can’t expect the Taliban to follow the terms of agreement in a potential peace deal if they can’t even agree to suspend violence for a limited amount of time. Take June 2018 for example, during the Muslim holiday of Eid, the Taliban and Afghan government agreed to a ceasefire. After only eleven days, the Taliban resumed fighting. We have almost no reason to believe that the Taliban would adhere to the peace agreement.

  This brings up another question– is the Taliban leadership powerful enough to convince their devoted members to stop fighting? Personally, I do not believe the leaders have enough authority to be able to enforce an idea like this. The apparent death of prominent Al-Qaeda figure Hazma bin Laden, Osama bin Laden’s son, two months ago, also caused other terrorist groups like the Taliban to suffer. 

  Since Hazma’s death, questions have surfaced about the terrorist organization’s appeal to younger generations. The Taliban are known for being a terrorist group that incite fear into people’s everyday lives. If they somehow stopped fighting altogether, they would certainly lose notoriety across the globe. 

  Conversely, if we ever want to accomplish our ultimate goal of peace in Afghanistan, it all starts with being able to trust the Taliban. American trust in the Taliban can be shown in the following ways: 1. As mentioned above, they should be able to demonstrate they have the ability to stop the violence they are inflicting in the Middle East. 2. Contrary to their current beliefs, the Taliban should demonstrate they respect free speech and women’s rights. 3. The U.S. should enforce sanctions on the Taliban in the event that the peace treaty is violated. 

  There is reason to believe that the Taliban live up to their word. In 2014, the Taliban agreed to release Army Private Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. Some might say this shows that the Taliban have the authority and ability to honor agreements made by other parties. However, they are likely to have more interest in receiving five Taliban prisoners than listening to the U.S. direct them from outside of Afghanistan.

  In some ways, this controversial issue is similar to getting to know someone in a relationship before proposing–the U.S and Taliban should at least get along prior to sealing the vow of extended peace.