The Pentagon said on Thursday that the Afghan Taliban had not met its commitment under the US-Taliban deal.
“Without meeting their commitments to renounce terrorism and to stop the violent attacks on the Afghan National Security Forces and by dint of that the Afghan people, it’s very hard to see a specific way forward for the negotiated settlement,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said at a press briefing.
“But we’re still committed to that,” he added.
Kirby noted that the United States had not made any decision on future force presence in Afghanistan, saying 2,500 US troops currently stationed in the country were sufficient to accomplish counterterrorism missions.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan last Friday told his Afghan counterpart Hamdullah Mohib that the United States would assess “whether the Taliban was living up to its commitments to cut ties with terrorist groups, to reduce violence in Afghanistan, and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Afghan government and other stakeholders.”
The United States and the Taliban signed an agreement in late February 2020, which called for a full withdrawal of the US military forces from Afghanistan by May 2021 if the Taliban meets the conditions of the deal, including severing ties with terrorist groups.
The war in Afghanistan, which has caused about 2,400 US military deaths, is the longest one in US history. The former President Donald Trump accelerated the pullout from the country in the final months of his presidency, though some of his senior aides had suggested a more cautious approach.
Pentagon File photo:VCG
