Coming Off the Rails

Reconciliation efforts soon derailed, as this chapter shows. Conflicting interests between the U.S., the Taliban, and the Karzai government meant that the reconciliation process was lacking progress. While a Strategic Partnership Agreement seemed to realign the U.S. and Afghan governments, poor coordination of the opening of the Doha office and the transition ceremony from ISAF to Afghan forces set back the relationship. By continuing the drawdown, the U.S. was losing negotiating leverage.