There is growing annoyance among top US allies in Afghanistan, as they find themselves on the outside looking in at US peace talks with the Taliban. They are wondering where the negotiations are headed, and how they will be impacted.



The Qatari Foreign Ministry released footage of the February US-Taliban talks in Doha, showing seven Qatari officials were in attendance at the end of the talks. Diplomats from NATO nations involved in the war are particularly irked that Qatar got seven seats at the table, and they couldn’t even get one.



A lot of these NATO nations are also deep donors to the Afghan government, part of a planned endgame that will see Afghanistan dependent on overseas donations more or less forever. Many, however, are questioning continuing this funding, citing “donor fatigue.”



The US State Department is downplaying this, saying everybody reviews foreign aid all the time, but that they are confident that continuing to bankroll Afghanistan is in the interest of the international community.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz