US military plans to exit Afghanistan within five years: New York Times
TEHRAN(Basirat): The US Defense Department is offering a new plan that would see all American troops exit Afghanistan within the next three to five years and end the 17-year-old conflict in the war-torn country, according to US media.
The Pentagon plan is being offered in peace negotiations that could result in
the Afghan government sharing power with the Taliban militant group, The New
York Times reported Thursday, citing former American and European officials.
The plan would also require the departure of NATO forces in Afghanistan at the
same time, after having little success in stabilizing the country since their
invasion in 2001, the newspaper reported.
The proposal calls for cutting by half the 14,000 American troops currently in
Afghanistan in the coming months. It would task the remaining 8,600
international troops from NATO and non-NATO nations with training the Afghan
military.
However, the Taliban is reportedly deeply opposed to the proposal for American
troops remaining in Afghanistan for up to five years.
US President Donald Trump has long expressed skepticism of enduring American
wars overseas. However, US officials warned that Trump could upend the new plan
at any time.
A United Nations (UN) report says more civilians lost their lives in the war in
Afghanistan in 2018 than any other year on record.
On Monday, US diplomats met with the Taliban in Qatar in the highest-level
negotiations yet, including the attendance of General Austin Miller, the
commander of the international forces in Afghanistan.
The negotiations between the US and the Taliban are aimed at ending the 17-year
war in Afghanistan.
The Afghan government has not been a part of the negotiations because of Taliban
reluctance to talk to President Ashraf Ghani or his envoys.
The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 and overthrew a Taliban regime in
power at the time. But US forces have remained bogged down there through the
presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.
James Stavridis, a retired American admiral and former top NATO commander who is
now with the Carlyle Group private equity firm, said empowering the Afghan
military is more important than an enduring international troop presence for
Afghanistan’s security.
"I think the security forces would be very capable of keeping order in the
country, particularly in a scenario where the Taliban has come in from the
cold,” Stavridis said.
Source;ISNA
