The chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley said Wednesday that the chances of a successful outcome from peace talks on ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan were higher than before and could happen in the “near term.”
“With a bit of luck, we’ll have successful negotiations in the near term, not too distant future,” Milley added as he arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday on his first trip to the country since taking the top job in September.
Over the past 18 years, senior American military leaders and diplomats have routinely talked about their optimism and how the war has turned a corner, but the Taliban continue to control large parts of the country.
Talks between the Taliban and the United States aimed at ending the war collapsed in September after President Donald Trump called off what he described as a planned meeting at the U.S. Camp David presidential retreat.
