Participants attend the opening of two-day talks between the Taliban and Afghan opposition representatives at the President Hotel in Moscow on Feb. 5, 2019. The Taliban refuse to recognize the government in Kabul, and that's a major roadblock to peace.
Editor's Note : This assessment is part of a series of analyses supporting Stratfor's upcoming 2019 Second-Quarter Forecast. These assessments are designed to provide more context and in-depth analysis on key developments over the next quarter . After 17 years of war in Afghanistan, the United States is finally sitting down for talks with the militant group it overthrew in 2001. A U.S. delegation headed by special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad gathered with Taliban leaders, including senior Taliban official Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Doha on Feb. 25 for the start of a fifth round of negotiations to end Afghanistan's long war .
