Blinken also made it clear in the letter that the Biden government continues to consider a “total withdrawal” of the approximately 2,500 American forces in the country by the May 1 deadline negotiated by the Trump administration.
The State Department declined to comment on the TOLONews report.
“We did not make any decision about our strength posture in Afghanistan after May 1,” the State Department said in a statement. “All options remain on the table.”
Afghanistan presents one of the new government’s most difficult foreign policy decisions. The US public is tired of a nearly 20-year war, but withdrawing now can be seen as giving the Taliban a lot of influence and casting a shadow over the sacrifices made by the US and coalition troops and Afghan civilians.
Blinken urged Ghani to embrace the proposal quickly and stressed his concern that the security situation in the country could deteriorate rapidly as the climate warms up in Afghanistan.
“Even with the continued financial assistance from the United States to its forces after an American military withdrawal, I am concerned that the security situation will worsen and that the Taliban could gain rapid territorial gains,” Blinken wrote in the letter.