Thread by @jseldin

"So far the signs are positive..." @US4AfghanPeace tells @USIP #AfghanPeace about #Doha talks btw #Afghanistan & #Taliban

"The first days of the negotiations also showed more progress than many expected"

All stakeholder countries are supporting the #Afghan-#Taliban talks, "with the exception of #Iran" per @US4AfghanPeace

"I am hopeful" per @US4AfghanPeace "Nothing is guaranteed of course...the responsibility is w/the leaders of both sides"

#Afghanistan-#Taliban talks

"Based on what I see & what I've heard, they're serious about the negotiations" @US4AfghanPeace says of #Taliban "They've sent a very empowered senior team to negotiate...They have said to me they is no alternative to negotiations"

"They seek to be accepted as a partner, as a normal player" adds @US4AfghanPeace of #Taliban

#Taliban performance has been "mixed since we made this agreement but we see their ability and their willingness to deliver" per @US4AfghanPeace

"We will watch and monitor...but I do believe they are taking the negotiations seriously, for their own self-interest" per @US4AfghanPeace

re #Taliban

"Violence is too high" per @US4AfghanPeace, saying #Afghanistan #Taliban are using violence to strengthen their positions at the negotiating table

#AfghanPeace

"We believe the violence needs to be brought down by both sides...I am talking to both" per @US4AfghanPeace "The violence levels are unacceptably high"

"I assess their role as positive" @US4AfghanPeace says of #Pakistan's involvement in #Afghanistan-#Taliban talks

"Our relationship with Pakistan, as a result, has improved" he adds of US-Pakistan relations

"Being in #Afghanistan militarily is not an end in itself for the #UnitedStates" per @US4AfghanPeace

"It is the judgment of the military leadership that at that number [under 5,000], we still can do the mission..."

#AfghanPeace

"#ISIS is very active in terms of violence, in urban areas especially" @US4AfghanPeace warns, talking about other players in #Afghanistan wishing the peace talks harm "ISIS wants to derail the potential agreement"

#alQaida in #Afghanistan - "They are a very small number even if you include #alQaida in the Indian Subcontinent" per @US4AfghanPeace "They are mostly focused on survival bcs we are hunting for them"

#Taliban taking on #alQaida? "They have taken steps. But this is unfinished business from my point of view. They need to take more" per @US4AfghanPeace, who declines to share any details about what exactly Taliban have done to crack down on AQ

#AfghanPeace