U.S. to pull troops from 5 Afghan bases in 135 days after Taliban deal passes

[Kailash Kumar]

US to pull troops from 5 Afghan bases in 135 days after Taliban deal passes

55 MINUTES AGO

Zalmay Khalilzad, who is leading efforts to forge a deal with the Taliban, made the announcement after meeting Afghanistan's President Ghani who asked the US envoy to share the draft agreement between the US and Taliban with all Afghan leaders.

President Ashraf Ghani meets with US special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad in Kabul, Afghanistan. September 2, 2019.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday told the US envoy for Afghanistan to share details of a draft deal between the US and Taliban with all Afghan leaders, the president's spokesman said.

The US special representative for Afghanistan showed Ghani the draft of an agreement between the US and Taliban expected to clear the way for a phased US troop withdrawal, officials said.

The US military will pull its troops from five bases in Afghanistan if the Taliban honour their end of a proposed deal, Zalmay Khalilzad, who is leading negotiations between the two foes, said on Monday.

"We have agreed that if the conditions proceed according to the agreement, we will leave within 135 days five bases in which we are present now," Zalmay Khalilzad told Tolo News, according to an excerpt of an interview the TV station published on Twitter.

Khalilzad was speaking in Dari. Tolo said the full interview would be broadcast later Monday.

Khalilzad, the Afghan-born US diplomat who has completed nine rounds of talks with Taliban representatives, is meeting Afghan leaders in Kabul this week to build a consensus before the deal is signed.

The government will need to "study and assess" details of the draft deal, Ghani's spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told reporters.

Khalilzad has met with Ghani twice in the last two days, he said.

The agreement is expected to include a staggered withdrawal of US forces from their longest-ever war in exchange for a Taliban commitment that they will not allow Afghanistan to be used by militants to plot attacks on the US and its allies.

Ghani's government has been shut out of the talks as the militants refuse to recognise it, dismissing it as a US puppet.

But as part of the deal, the Taliban are expected to make a commitment to open power-sharing talks with the US-backed government and work towards a ceasefire.

Ghani will consider the draft and share his views on it with Khalilzad within two days, sources with knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters.

https://www.trtworld.com/asia/us-to...s-in-135-days-after-taliban-deal-passes-29461

 

[Murgah]

So Americans are ready to completely withdrawal's from Afghanistan

 

[Flight of falcon]

I recently watched a documentary called Vietnam on Netflix. Amazing resemblance here. Nixon gave assurance in writing that any move against South Vietnam will be met with full American might after they withdraw.
One by one all cities and towns fell to Vietcong . Americans were no where to be found.
Once Saigon came under threat not a single bullet was fired by the Americans and they fled leaving all South Vietnamese who supported them behind. Ford refused to even give them military or financial aid to fight back.

Watch same scenario being played out in Afghanistan.

 

[925boy]

So Americans are ready to completely withdrawal's from Afghanistan

............under favorable conditions (according to US govt imo).

 

[pakpride00090]

I recently watched a documentary called Vietnam on Netflix. Amazing resemblance here. Nixon gave assurance in writing that any move against South Vietnam will be met with full American might after they withdraw.
One by one all cities and towns fell to Vietcong . Americans were no where to be found.
Once Saigon came under threat not a single bullet was fired by the Americans and they fled leaving all South Vietnamese who supported them behind. Ford refused to even give them military or financial aid to fight back.

Watch same scenario being played out in Afghanistan.

I guess Afghan government is fucked then... Good news for Taliban and by extension Pakistan

 

[Hareeb]

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff disagrees with Zalmay Khalilzad, says: its too early to discuss withdrawl.

 

[RoadRunner401]

WASHINGTON — Senior White House advisers have proposed secretly expanding the C.I.A.’s presence in Afghanistan if international forces begin to withdraw from the country, according to American officials. But C.I.A. and military officials have expressed reservations, prompting a debate in the administration that could complicate negotiations with the Taliban to end the war.

Some administration officials want C.I.A.-backed militia forces in Afghanistan to serve as part of a counterterrorism force that would prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State or Al Qaeda as American military troops prepare to leave — in effect, an insurance policy.

But others are skeptical that the shadowy militias, many of which face accusations of brutality, can serve as a bulwark against terrorism without the support of the American military.

The C.I.A. director, Gina Haspel, has raised logistical concerns about the plan with other administration officials, emphasizing that the agency operatives — who marshal the militias to hunt Taliban, Qaeda and Islamic State militants — largely depend on the military for airstrikes, overhead surveillance, medical support and bomb technicians.

not an immediate threat to the West, despite its regular attacks on Afghan civilians and continuing fight with the Taliban, according to intelligence officials.

The disagreement about the future of the C.I.A. in Afghanistan underscores the fault lines within the administration between those who want a final withdrawal and those who fear it would expose the United States to terrorist threats. This article is based on interviews with a half-dozen current or former officials briefed on the administration’s discussions. The C.I.A. declined to comment, and the White House declined to respond on the record to a request for comment.

The issue could pose an obstacle as American and Taliban negotiators seek a deal to end the longest war in United States history. The Taliban have made clear that they see little difference between American military troops and C.I.A. officers, and they have insisted in the current peace talks in Qatar that the C.I.A. must leave along with international military forces in the coming months or over the next few years.The top American negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, said over the weekend that the two sides were on “the threshold of an agreement” after the latest round of negotiations. They have broadly covered the fate of the Afghan security forces but have not dealt directly with the militia groups, or American support for them, said a person familiar with the negotiations.

killed eight members and six civilians, and wounded hundreds more. In January, Taliban fighters infiltrated an Afghan intelligence base in Wardak Province, killing dozens in one of the deadliest attacks on the service during the nearly 18-year war.

Fighting in Afghanistan has increased since peace discussions began as both sides try to strengthen their positions. Taliban fighters mounted two attacks over the weekend, including one in the northern city of Kunduz that killed the top police spokesman and wounded the police chief, according to local officials.

In a Fox News interview last week, President Trump alluded to keeping American forces, and perhaps the C.I.A., in Afghanistan after any deal with the Taliban is reached. “We are reducing that presence very substantially and we’re going to always have a presence and we’re going to have high intelligence,” he said.

Afghans have charged that they are responsible for attacks that left many civilians dead and use brutal tactics that have turned large swaths of Afghans against the forces. Last month, tribal elders said that a raid by the Afghan-intelligence-backed forces killed 11 civilians in Paktia Province, prompting the Afghan government to begin investigating.

While the C.I.A.’s precise footprint in Afghanistan is unclear, the agency invested more resources into the country at the start of the Trump administration in an effort to pursue Taliban fighters. Now, agency paramilitary officers — working often from an annex near the American Embassy in Kabul — team up with militias and other small Afghan intelligence teams across the country to go after Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, the Haqqani Network and often various factions within the Taliban, current and former officials said.

Omega Teams, are now mostly composed of soldiers drawn from the Army’s elite Ranger regiment.)

For the C.I.A. militias to serve as an effective counter terrorism force, those American military teams would need to remain, even if only with a few dozen people, in different parts of the country, current and former officials said.

The exact size and nature of the agency’s presence in Afghanistan are closely guarded secrets, and details about the militia groups the C.I.A. advises are also murky.

Even with continued military support, expanding the agency’s work would mean extending one of the deadliest missions in the agency’s history.

At least 20 C.I.A. members have been killed in Afghanistan during the war, according to current and former officials. In July, an Army bomb disposal technician was severely wounded during a C.I.A.-led mission, and an agency contractor was killed over Memorial Day weekend.


Adam Goldman contributed reporting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/02/...tion=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage

 

[Pakistansdefender]

Zalmay has done his job . Imran and trump are totally supportive . The only issue is this mayor of kabul and his party. They would do their best to subotage the process .

 

[313ghazi]

How many bases are they actually present in though?

 

[Imran Khan]

How many bases are they actually present in though?

7 are key bases so they will stay in 2 bases

 

[313ghazi]

7 are key bases so they will stay in 2 bases

Reading the article looks like full pull out by 16 months.

 

[Flash_Ninja]

I think that soon after the complete withdrawal, the Afghan govt will splinter or collapse

The fact that Ghani is not even party to the negotiations of his countrys future, shows how much faith the Americans and taliban have in him.

 

[GumNaam]

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff disagrees with Zalmay Khalilzad, says: its too early to discuss withdrawl.

if the agreement is signed, staying past the given time limit of the agreement will give the justification to the Afghan Taliban to view it as a breach of agreement and unleash hell. gen. dunford isn't representing the u.s. , zalmay khalilzad is...an agreement between zalmay & Taliban is an agreement between the u.s. & Taliban...gen dunford needs to know his place & shut the hell up, deep state or no deep state.