“‘The whole purpose of this U.S.-Taliban agreement is to induce the Taliban to come to the negotiating table with the Afghan government and other representatives of Afghan society,’ said Michèle Flournoy, who was a high-level Pentagon official in the Obama administration.

“‘It’s very, very important that the delegation that sits across from the Taliban be inclusive, not only members of the Ghani administration, but also the political opposition, civil society and especially women and younger Afghans,’ Ms. Flournoy said this week on a conference call hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.

“‘There’s lots of academic case studies for why more inclusive delegations, particularly the inclusion of women, lead to more sustainable and better outcomes,’ said Ms. Flournoy, now with the strategic advisory firm WestExec Advisors. ‘So that’s very important, and that’s going to be no small challenge in the wake of the very polarizing election results that have just been announced…'”

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