The U.S. and Taliban are close to finalizing an agreement to reduce violence in Afghanistan, which would open the door to a historic deal on the U.S. military presence there, according to U.S. and Taliban officials.
The U.S. has not specified what the Taliban proposed, but Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday,"There is a reduction in violence proposal on the table." A State Department spokesperson said Tuesday discussions about the specifics on this interim agreement were ongoing between chief U.S. negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban officials in Doha, Qatar, which has hosted over a dozen rounds of talks now.
At the time, the two sides were close to a final agreement, and U.S. officials say that framework is still in place: The U.S. would agree to gradually withdraw its troops -- under a"conditions-based approach" -- according to U.S. officials, and the Taliban would commit to not allow Afghanistan to be a safe haven for terrorism and to start intra-Afghan peace talks, including with representatives of the government.
Still, Ghani expressed support for where things stand, saying in a statement Tuesday:"Our primary objective is to end the senseless bloodshed. ... I assure [the Afghan people] that their leadership maintains the courage, competence, and the necessary resources to achieve this objective. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will manage the next steps in a manner that positively supports the overall peace process and will report to the public.
That would mean U.S. troops could begin withdrawing this year. There are currently between 12,000 and 13,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, although Esper said he has been assured by U.S. military commanders that troop levels could be reduced to 8,600 because they're confident they can carry out their mission at that number.The initial agreement could come as soon as this week, with Ghani and Pompeo expected to meet at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
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