The trove of documents obtained by The Washington Post newspaper details how three U.S. presidents and their military commanders falsified reports about making progress in Afghanistan.

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” said one Army general quoted in the papers.

After 18 years of instability and violence there is still no end in sight to the longest armed conflict in US history.  The disclosures come as U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce a partial troop withdrawal.

The administration also hoping for a peace deal with the Taliban.

To discuss all of this:

• Mushtaq Rahim is a founding member of the Afghanistan Affairs Unit.
• Richard Becker is the West Coast coordinator for the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition.
• John Sitilides is a global risk analyst and a consultant with the US State Department.
• Intizar Khadim is director of the Center for Development and Peace Studies.

For more:

U.S. envoy to Afghanistan announces 'pause' in Taliban peace talks after attack on airbase – https://t.co/JHGJLFfwLT pic.twitter.com/wYpeF9VlQm

— SM Enlightenment Media (@SMEnlightenment) December 13, 2019

Perspective: No, we couldn’t win in Afghanistan. But we shouldn’t leave without a peace deal. https://t.co/gYNTIdsuLy

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 18, 2019

They experienced the war in Afghanistan on the ground. Here’s what they had to say. https://t.co/ljjegiQDZr

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 18, 2019