Wonder what Stephen Hadley means by “resetting the position of the United States in the negotiations.”

The US and the Taliban already have an agreement. The talks that are now taking place are between Afghans.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/18/team-biden-urged-to-keep-trump-afghanistan-envoy-zalmay-khalilzad-troop-drawdowns-afghan-taliban-peace-talks/

Some in Washington seem to see the Doha agreement as Trump’s deal, not America’s. Should be mindful of the precedent we may be setting if we back out of the agreement or seek to renegotiate it. The Taliban could then do the same later.

Building trust and helping the Taliban begin to assimilate as normative actors in the state system are key to making a deal with the Taliban endure. With great care, Khalilzad has built trust. Tearing up the deal could destroy all that & send the message that might equals right.

Ironically, some Democrats seem to recommend that Biden do to the Taliban deal something akin to what Trump did to the Iran deal. One big diff: US & Taliban have been engaged in direct hostilities. Unraveling of the deal will lead to resurgence of violence targeting US personnel.