1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, observes Chinook CH-47 helicopters flying overhead during a dust storm at Kushamond Advanced Operations Base, Afghanistan, the July 17, during the preparation of an air strike mission.
Photo of the US Army
WASHINGTON – NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that the alliance has not yet decided whether its 10,000 troops in Afghanistan will leave the country in May, according to a peace agreement signed between the US and the Taliban.
“Violence must be reduced and the Taliban must stop cooperating with international terrorist groups planning terrorist attacks in our countries,” Stoltenberg told reporters at the end of a two-day virtual meeting of defense ministers. ‘NATO.
Last February, the United States negotiated an agreement with the Taliban that would initiate a permanent ceasefire and further reduce the U.S. military’s footprint from about 13,000 troops to 8,600 by mid-July. past.
By May 2021, according to the agreement, all foreign forces would leave the war-weary country.
“Our goal is to ensure that we have a lasting political agreement that will allow us to move in a way that does not undermine our main goal and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven again. [for terrorists]”This is also the reason why we will continue to assess the situation before making a final decision on our future,” Stoltenberg said.
Jens Stoltenberg, 13th Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, talks to the media at NATO Headquarters on 11 February 2020 in Brussels, Belgium.
Thierry Monasse / Getty Images
“Most of the troops are from European allies and partner countries. We will do whatever it takes to make sure our troops are safe,” Stoltenberg said when asked if the alliance was prepared for violence if breaks the deal with the Taliban.
There are about 2,500 U.S. troops in the country. The United States currently plans to withdraw US service members from Afghanistan on May 1, 2021.
According to a Pentagon reading of the meeting, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told NATO members that the Biden administration “was conducting a thorough review of the terms of the agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban for determine whether all parties have complied with these conditions “.
“He assured the allies that the US would not carry out a hasty or disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan,” the statement added.
The Pentagon has previously said that the withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan would depend on the Taliban’s commitments to maintain the peace agreement signed last year.
The wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have cost U.S. taxpayers more than $ 1.57 trillion since Sept. 11, 2001, according to a Department of Defense report. The war in Afghanistan, now America’s longest-running conflict, began 19 years ago and has cost U.S. taxpayers $ 193 billion, according to the Pentagon.
Stoltenberg also said Thursday that the NATO alliance decided to expand its security training mission in Iraq. The military alliance agreed to increase its footprint from 500 troops to about 4,000.
“Our presence is based on conditions and the increase in the number of troops will be incremental,” he said, adding that the Iraqi government requested an expanded mission.