US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks with Department of Defense staff during a visit by US President Joe Biden to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, February 10, 2021.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Pentagon reporters on Friday that the Biden administration has not yet decided whether the United States will withdraw its troops by May 1.
In February last year, the United States struck a deal with the Taliban that would introduce a permanent ceasefire and further reduce the U.S. military’s footprint from about 13,000 troops to 8,600 by mid-July last year.
By May 2021, all foreign forces would leave the war-weary country, according to the agreement. There are currently about 2,500 American soldiers in the country.
“I urge all parties to choose the path to peace. Violence must be reduced now,” Austin said in his first press briefing with reporters.
“We have told our allies that, regardless of the outcome of our analysis, the United States will not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan,” he said, referring to this week’s NATO virtual meetings.
“There will be no surprises. We will consult each other, consult together and decide together and act together,” Austin said of the NATO-led mission.
The day before, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would continue to assess the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. NATO joined the international security effort in Afghanistan in 2003 and currently has more than 7,000 troops in the country.
“Our goal is to make sure that we have a lasting political agreement that can make it possible for us to leave in a way that does not undermine our main goal and that is to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven again. [for terrorists]”Stoltenberg said.
“Most of the troops come from European allies and partner countries. We will do what is necessary to ensure that our troops are safe,” he said when asked if the alliance was prepared for violence if the agreement with the Taliban will be violated.
Members of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team are leaving to conduct an equipment survey at an August 8 public works department in Afghanistan.
Photo: photo of the US Air Force by Staff Sgt. Timothy Chacon | Flickr CC
On Capitol Hill, bipartisan lawmakers pressed a group of experts on Friday to advise the United States not to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan.
“Since the US war in Afghanistan began almost 20 years ago, more than 775,000 of our brave men and women in uniform have been deployed in Afghanistan. More than 2,400 have made the ultimate sacrifice and another 20,000 have been wounded.” . Stephen Lynch, chair of the National Security Oversight and Reform Subcommittee, said in his opening statement.
“Nearly 20 years of US involvement in Afghanistan could very well be defined in the next three to six months. Probably with profound consequences for US national security and the future stability of the region,” he added.
The panel wrote in a report released earlier this month that US troops should keep troops in the war-torn country “to give the peace process enough time to produce an acceptable outcome.”
Read more: Biden is expected to keep US troops in Afghanistan after the May deadline, study group says
The recommendations of the Study Group for Afghanistan, a bipartisan group mandated by Congress at the United States Peace Institute, come as the Biden administration conducts a review of its strong position in the region.
“At what point is it enough, enough for American engagement in this region?” asked Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana. “If a US military presence is required, why should it include real boots on the ground?”
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford, who is co-chair of the Afghanistan Study Group, said US information would deteriorate if the military withdrew.
“To be effective in combating terrorism, you have to create an ecosystem, if you will, of intelligence and we would not have the networks available from the perspective of intelligence, we would not have the availability of the platform, ie systems that allow us to collect that information and we would not have the capacity to quickly strike with the resources needed to destroy terrorists once the intelligence develops its location, “Dunford, a retired four-star Marine general, told lawmakers.
“So if we were to do it from outside Afghanistan, you would only have a geometry problem and a reaction problem, you would not be as efficient,” he added.
The wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have cost US taxpayers more than $ 1.57 trillion since September 11, 2001, according to a Department of Defense report. The war in Afghanistan, which is now America’s longest conflict, began 19 years ago and cost American taxpayers $ 193 billion, according to the Pentagon.