Biden considers delaying U.S. troop exit from Afghanistan to later this yr

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is pondering preserving U.S. troops in Afghanistan till November, rather than withdrawing them by a Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced 1 lower-off date outlined in an agreement his predecessor negotiated with the Taliban, in step with 2 of us conversant in the discussions.

In recent discussions with members of his nationwide security personnel, Biden has pushed serve in opposition to the Protection Department’s efforts to preserve U.S. troops in Afghanistan previous Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced 1, regarded as some of the of us talked about. But he has been persuaded to assign in mind a six-month extension.

“Biden needs out,” regarded as some of the of us conversant in the discussions talked about. This particular person talked about Pentagon leaders were making the case that the Taliban is now not always living up to its destroy of the agreement, describing the argument as “Look for, you obtain this now, Mr. President, and we can now now not guarantee you what’s going to happen if we pleasing precipitously pull all people out.”

The defense power has equipped loads of alternate choices, including pulling troops out by or stop to Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced 1, preserving troops within the country indefinitely or preserving troops in Afghanistan for an outlined period to make sure by Biden, which can also encompass a six-month extension, talked about a 2nd particular person conversant in the subject.

“The decision is with the president,” the particular person talked about.

The of us conversant in the administration’s deliberations talked about no decision has been made.

A spokesperson for the Nationwide Safety Council declined to comment and pointed to White Home press secretary Jen Psaki’s most modern feedback about troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. In slack February, Psaki talked about that the quiz of whether to withdraw troops by Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced 1 became an ongoing dialogue within the White Home and that Biden would now now not be OK with the Taliban’s taking on energy in Afghanistan.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby has talked about that a policy review is soundless underway and that no decision has been made about future troop levels.

In an interview with ABC Information that aired Wednesday, Biden talked about he became pondering when U.S. troops would recede Afghanistan and acknowledged that a plump withdrawal by Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced 1 “is annoying.”

“I am within the strategy of making that decision now as to after they’re going to leave,” Biden talked about.

The decision bears some similarities to the inner debate that raged for the period of the Obama administration when Biden became vice president, even supposing it involves some distance fewer troops. Within the meanwhile, Biden strongly argued in opposition to sending tens of hundreds of extra U.S. troops to Afghanistan and in its assign aside called for a smaller counterterrorism power that would possibly level of interest entirely on concentrating on Al Qaeda militants. The puny power Biden advocated for then is stop to the scale of the one now in Afghanistan.

The Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced 1 lower-off date is fragment of an agreement between the Taliban and the U.S. negotiated by the Trump administration and signed final yr in Doha, Qatar. Underneath the deal, the U.S. promised to drag all troops out by Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced in return for the Taliban’s agreement to enter into peace talks with its adversaries within the Afghan govt and dedication to make clear that Afghanistan is now now not feeble as a staging ground for terrorist attacks on the U.S. or its allies.

Any extension of the U.S. troop presence previous Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced 1 would seemingly must be equipped to and negotiated with the Taliban, which has publicly talked about it’s some distance now now not going to unprejudiced fetch any lengthen within the U.S. exit, recent and ragged officials talked about. Otherwise, the Taliban can also argue that the U.S. became violating the Doha agreement and resume an all-out warfare with the U.S. and NATO allies. The Taliban has largely refrained from launching explain attacks on U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan for the explanation that deal became signed in February 2020.

The U.S. defense power talked about Wednesday that it had carried out airstrikes in opposition to the Taliban in southern Afghanistan within the outdated 48 hours after more than one attacks by the Taliban on Afghan govt security forces, a defense power spokesman talked about in a tweet.

Officials on the Pentagon acknowledge that time is operating out to meet the Would possibly presumably well unprejudiced 1 lower-off date, given the logistical challenges of transporting hardware across the country’s mountainous terrain.

The Grunt Department’s particular representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, took fragment in talks in Moscow on Thursday between the Taliban and the Afghan govt, as successfully as other outstanding Afghans, to strive and come the stalled peace project. Representatives from Pakistan, Iran, India and China also attended.

In a while, the U.S., Russia, China and Pakistan talked about in a joint assertion that they “fade participants within the intra-Afghan negotiations to preserve directly in discussions on classic factors to unravel the warfare, including the foundations of the prolonged fade soundless and exact Afghan remark, the insist material of a political roadmap resulting in an inclusive govt, and the modalities of a eternal and complete ceasefire.”

The Moscow assembly is on account of be followed by a critical world convention subsequent month hosted by Turkey. The convention is fragment of a wider diplomatic push by the Biden administration to revive peace talks, however the 2 aspects live some distance aside.

Washington has proposed that the Taliban and Afghan leaders negotiate a energy-sharing deal that would possibly respect an period in-between govt, which can presumably be accompanied by a discontinue-fireplace. However the Taliban has to this level refused to endorse a countrywide discontinue-fireplace, and the Afghan govt has expressed considerations about forming an period in-between govt without retaining elections.