U.S. and Taliban Reach First Step of Peace Deal by Courtney McBride - Wall Street Journal
The U.S. government and the Afghan Taliban have agreed to the first step of a peace deal, a senior Trump administration official said Friday, a major milestone after months of talks over ending a war that has gone on for more than 18 years.
U.S. and Taliban officials agreed to what negotiators call a reduction in violence over an initial seven-day period, the official said, adding it would begin “very soon.”
The U.S. military will monitor the progress of the violence reduction, the official said. If successful, the period of reduced violence is intended to lead to talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government and to a reduction of U.S. force levels. There are about 13,000 U.S. troops now in the country…