U.S.-Taliban deal

With questions swirling about how long U.S. troops will remain in the country, Austin said that "in terms of an end date or setting a specific date for withdrawal, that's the domain of my boss."

The one-day conference last week is part of a larger effort by regional powers to make peace between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Will it be May? Maybe not.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai says a proposed peace deal put out by the U.S. offers the best chance forward beyond the stalled talks.

Yet another elite-based peace agreement, rather than one centered on the people, simply assures a future conflict in Afghanistan.

"Our presence in Afghanistan is conditions based, and Taliban has to meet their commitments," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

The fate of the U.S.-Taliban deal hangs in the balance, while the peace process stalls. What will the Biden administration ultimately do about Afghanistan?

Some say NATO and the U.S. should send a strong message for peace to all sides in Afghanistan's protracted conflict.

The U.S.-Taliban “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan” has so far yielded few concrete results and bloody fighting and attacks are continuing across the country.

Sher Mohammed Abbas Stanikzai, who led the Taliban delegation to Moscow,  insisted that the Taliban have been abiding by the deal.

Most Afghans will have difficulty recovering from a failed peace process in which they and their government have invested so much hope.