Biden administration considers 6-month extension for US troops in Afghanistan

Biden administration considers 6-month extension for US troops in Afghanistan

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No final decision has been made, the official emphasized. NBC News reported for the first time that a six-month extension is being considered.
The official noted that the United States will want the Taliban to agree to the extension. Other options are still on the table, including a full withdrawal until May 1, but a sign of President Joe Biden’s current thinking came this week when he told ABC News that he did not think it “would take much longer”, and said that a total withdrawal until May 1 “may happen, but it is difficult”.

Biden has some domestic political coverage – some members of Congress are concerned about a total withdrawal. And the president sharply criticized the details that the Trump administration negotiated.

“I am in the process of making that decision now as to when they will leave. The fact is that it was not a very solidly negotiated deal that the president – the former president – drafted. So, we are in consultation with our allies, as well as with the government, and that decision – is in progress now, “Biden told ABC.

A report by an influential study group on Afghanistan co-chaired by the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford recommended a more flexible schedule based on conditions such as reduced violence.

A critical problem is that the current deal with the Taliban does not recognize potentially hundreds of US special operations forces in the country that are not part of the current group of 2,500 American soldiers there. If they stay to help counterterrorism missions in addition to a reduction, the United States may have to acknowledge that presence widely.

Several defense officials previously told CNN that the US-led NATO alliance would like to see decisions made no later than April 1 because of the challenges of removing US weapons and equipment, amid concerns about some of them falling. in the hands of the Taliban.

A Pentagon report said that the total withdrawal could be devastating for “the survival of the Afghan state as we know it”.

But while Biden weighs his options, the US military continues its operations in the country, having carried out air strikes this week against the Taliban.

US air strikes in recent days have targeted “Taliban fighters actively attacking and maneuvering in (Afghanistan National Security Forces) positions” in Kandahar, said Col. Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan. , on a tweet on Wednesday.

The Taliban “strongly condemned” US air strikes in Kandahar, with spokesman Qari Mohammad Yusuf Ahmadi saying that Taliban members were killed and wounded, but did not specify how many.

Ahmadi called the attacks “a clear violation of the Doha Agreement, which cannot be justified in any way”.

The “Doha Agreement”, signed by the United States and the Taliban just over a year ago in Doha, Qatar, established a series of commitments on both sides regarding troop levels, counterterrorism and intra-Afghan dialogue with the aim to bring about “a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.”

This story was updated with additional information on Thursday.

CNN’s Betsy Klein, Devan Cole and Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

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