10 things you need to know today: February 29, 2020

U.S., Taliban sign peace deal, Biden the focus as South Carolina prepares for primary, and more

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar shake hands after signing a peace agreement.
(Image credit: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images)

1. U.S., Taliban sign peace deal

The United States signed a peace agreement with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, which is poised to end an 18-year conflict between the sides in Afghanistan. Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. will phase its troops out of Afghanistan, first whittling the number down from 13,000 to 8,600 in the next three to four months. If the Taliban holds up its end of the commitment — which, The Associated Press reports, includes preventing extremists from using Afghanistan as a "staging ground" for attacking the U.S. and its allies — from that point forward, there will be a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces in 14 months. Washington remains very cautious about trusting the Taliban, and Afghanistan's future remains in flux. The next step toward peace in the country will involve complicated talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.