On February 29, 2020, following long months of negotiations under the auspices of Qatar, the U.S. and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban) signed an agreement on the future of Afghanistan. In the agreement, the Taliban committed (Part Two, Article 3) to “prevent[ing] any group or individual in Afghanistan from threatening the security of the United States and its allies,” adding that they would “prevent them from recruiting, training, and fundraising, and will not host them, in accordance with the commitments in this agreement.”
A few days before the agreement was signed, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo paraphrased this clause, stating that “the Taliban must respect the agreement, specifically regarding their promises of severing ties with terrorists.” He added: “We’re not required to leave unless they can demonstrate they are fulfilling every element of their end of the bargain.”
Among these terrorists, the U.S.-Taliban Agreement specifically mentions Al-Qaeda, stating that the Taliban “will not allow any of its members, other individuals or groups, including Al-Qaeda, to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States.”
