How Biden’s Attempted Shortcut Undermines Peace in Afghanistan The Biden administration hoped to take a shortcut to peace in Afghanistan with one more big conference. It won’t work. April 29, 2021 Afghan security police stand guard at a checkpoint in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Rahmat Gul Advertisement In the fall of 2001, the U.S. influenced the paths of two strongmen in the north of Afghanistan. CIA operatives and U.S. Special Forces landed in the country’s north to help General Abdul Rashid Dostum fight a Taliban commander near Mazar-i-Sharif, Mullah Mohammad Fazl. He eventually surrendered to Dostum and in return, Dostum handed Fazl over to the U.S. forces.