Saving the deal.

OVER the past week or so, events in Afghanistan have appeared quite surreal. Last Saturday, the Americans and the Afghan Taliban signed what appeared to be a historic deal in Doha that was designed to bring to an end the nearly two-decade-long American presence in Afghanistan. There were smiles all around as the once bitter foes shook hands warmly, though naysayers were quick to point out that this was a doomed accord. Sure enough, soon after the signing of the deal, the Afghan government refused to release around 5,000 Taliban prisoners. Thereafter Donald Trump and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who signed the Doha deal on the Taliban's behalf, had an over half-hour telephone conversation, with the American president commenting that 'the relationship is very good that I have with the mullah'. However, the relationship was tested as the US bombed Taliban targets soon after the call, apparently because the militants had attacked Afghan troops. And on Friday, violence revisited Kabul as gunmen attacked a condolence reference for a senior Afghan Hazara leader. Afghan politician Abdullah Abdullah was present at the ceremony but escaped unharmed. It is unclear if the Taliban are responsible, as the attack appears to have sectarian overtones.

While it has indeed been a tumultuous week, considering this is the Afghan theatre much worse could have occurred. Moreover, Afghanistan has been witnessing instability for the past four decades, so any peace deal must be incredibly flexible and accommodative, considering the spoilers that are at work, and the...