Skip to main content

Trump wants forces reduced in Afghanistan by next US election: Pompeo

Afghanistan

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump wants combat forces reduced in Afghanistan by the next US presidential election, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, introducing a timeline to Washington’s plan for cutting troop numbers there.

Trump’s South Asia strategy, unveiled in August 2017, called for an open-ended deployment of US forces with the goal of compelling the Taliban to negotiate peace with the Kabul government to end nearly 18 years of war.

“That’s my directive from the president of the United States,” Pompeo told The Economic Club of Washington when asked whether he expects Trump to reduce troops in Afghanistan before the November 2020 election.

“He’s been unambiguous: End the endless wars, draw down, reduce. It won’t just be us,” he said, referring to Trump’s directive. “We hope that overall the need for combat forces in the region is reduced.”

The disclosure of a timeline will add to speculation that Trump is prepared to strike any deal with the Taliban insurgency that will allow for at least partial US withdrawal before American voters go to the polls, irrespective of concerns by the US-backed government in Kabul.

Pompeo’s comments also come at a delicate moment, as the United States prepares to engage in another round talks with the insurgents. Disclosing Trump’s goals of a troop drawdown could weaken the US negotiating position if the Taliban believe Trump wants to withdraw, irrespective of the outlines of any deal.

On Friday, the State Department said Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani agreed in a phone call to “accelerate efforts” to end the war and said the United States was committed to a conditions-based drawdown of troops.

Read more: Intra-Afghan talks only after U.S. agrees to withdraw troops: Taliban

Pompeo said he was “optimistic” about negotiations with the Taliban and the Afghan government.

Washington wants to negotiate a deal under which foreign forces would pull out in return for security guarantees by the Taliban, including a pledge that the country will not become a safe haven for terror groups.

“We want them to take their country back and we want to reduce what is, for us, tens of billions of dollars a year in expenditures,” Pompeo added.

The United States and other NATO troops are stationed in Afghanistan as part of a mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces and to carry out counter-terrorism operations.

Two US service members were killed in Afghanistan on Monday, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement. The incident brings the number of American troops killed there this month to three and at least 11 in 2019.

The post Trump wants forces reduced in Afghanistan by next US election: Pompeo appeared first on ARYNEWS.



from ARYNEWS https://ift.tt/2GBvvwp
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trump says he urged team to ‘slow’ COVID-19 testing

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he was encouraging health officials in his administration to slow down coronavirus testing, arguing that increased tests lead to more cases being discovered. The president has claimed falsely on several occasions that surges of COVID-19 in several states can be explained by greater numbers of diagnostic tests. At his first rally since the outbreak forced nationwide shutdowns in March, Trump told the crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma that testing was a “double-edged sword.” The United States — which has more deaths and cases than any other country — has carried out more than 25 million coronavirus tests, placing it outside the top 20 countries in the world, per capita. “Here is the bad part: When you do testing to that extent, you are going to find more people, you will find more cases,” Trump argued. “So I said to my people ‘slow the testing down.’ They test and they test.” It was not clear from Trump’s tone if he was playing to the crowd, who ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rouhani calls Imran, discusses resumption of trade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran on Wednesday discussed full resumption of bilateral trade, which was halted last month because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The two sides stressed the need to reactivate borders and border markets and strengthen trade ties by following health guidelines,” a statement issued by the Iranian presidency on the telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Hassan Rouhani said. President Rouhani had called the prime minister for Ramazan greetings. Border trade between the two countries was suspended after a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), held on March 13, decided to close all borders because of the pandemic. Islamabad partially relaxed the restrictions on April 21, allowing the import of certain food items and provision of petrol and diesel to the border areas. Cargo traffic from Iran was allowed for three days every week. Cargo movement between the two countries takes place through five border crossings — Taftan...
Post a Comment
Read more

Today’s outlook: Sindh CM discusses reopening markets with PM Khan

Here are some of the stories we are expecting to follow today (Thursday): Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will take Prime Minister Imran Khan into confidence over reopening shops and markets across the province. The reopened markets will have to follow SOPs. Sindh Transport Minister Awais Qadir Shah will discuss SOPs with transporters for resuming public transport in the coming days. The meeting will be held at the Sindh Assembly building at 1:30pm. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has proposed a price cut of Rs20.68 per litre for petrol in its summary. Imam-e-Kaaba Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais has said Masjid Al Haram and Masjid Al Nabawi will be reopened for worshipers soon. He said the Kaaba is being sterilised using latest technologies. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar will head various meetings during his visit to Bahawalpur. As of Thursday, Pakistan has reported more than 15,500 confirmed coronavirus cases. ICYMI: An amendment to the National Accountability Or...
Post a Comment
Read more