 Nineteen years after the U.S. first went into Afghanistan, peace talks have finally begun. Is this the beginning of the end of America's longest war? This is the latest. I'm Scott Worden. What is the significance of Afghan peace negotiations beginning on September 12th, and what role did the U.S. play in getting there? The talks that began last week are a big deal. It has been 19 years since the U.S. first entered Afghanistan, and for the last decade, American diplomats have been trying to get the Afghan government and the Taliban to sit together at the same table and talk about the political future of their country. This moment wouldn't be here if it wasn't for U.S. diplomacy and U.S. pressure. 18 months ago, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad sat down and talked for the first time directly with the Taliban. And the agreement that the U.S. and the Taliban reached says that all troops will be gone by May of next year if the Taliban agree to cut ties with al-Qaeda and ISIS and also sit down and talk with the Afghan government. What's at stake for Afghans in the peace talks? Well, a lot is on the line. The dominant debate in Afghanistan right now is whether peace talks can result in saving the Democratic Republic that Afghans enjoy today, or does it mean return to an emirate where the Taliban had restrictive religious rule? This is most important for Afghan women who suffered greatly under the Taliban's old regime and are very concerned that if the Taliban come back into power, then their rights will be removed and they will have to go back and leave the workplace, leave the political arena and go back home. In addition to women's rights, there's the question of personal safety. The war has been incredibly costly on Afghans on all sides. So there is a fear that some kind of compromises are going to have to be made, but the vast majority of Afghans don't want to give up their political rights, their civil rights, their human rights in order to live safely. How can the United States help support this process and promote its own interests? The U.S. has a huge role to play in the peace process going forward. The U.S. is the most influential outside actor in Afghanistan because of our troops, but also because of our significant foreign assistance. On the other hand, the U.S. can't dictate the outcome because this is a political solution that Afghans are going to have to live with for the coming decades. So the U.S. has to make clear that it cares about the outcome, and there are solutions that would not protect U.S. security interests. If it's too one-sided, then a settlement could lead back to civil war and more safe havens. On the other hand, if it's too much in favor of the Taliban, it would not be aligned with American values. So the U.S. really has to engage in active diplomacy to show that there are limits to what U.S. assistance will be willing to support in the settlement, but at the same time, allow the Afghans and encourage them to come up with their own solutions.