Michael Hughes: Trump 2.0 and Taliban 2.0 were likely destined to clash, but who knew the unlikely bedfellows would kill their marriage within weeks of the Dealmaker-In-Chief reentering the Oval Office. We knew Trump would go after the $7 billion in military aid the U.S. left behind in Afghanistan, but less foreseeable was the radical movement daring to metaphorically tear up the Doha deal so soon and so publicly.
In a TV interview on February 28, chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid declared that the Taliban government would no longer abide by the Doha agreement – a deal struck with the Trump 1.0 administration which led to the complete withdrawal of all foreign forces. The Taliban announcement came roughly five years from the day the agreement was signed.