Taliban should make its stand against Al Qaida clear, says US Gen
Kabul/UNI: United State Central Command’s top general, Marine Gen. Kenneth F McKenzie has said that he would not recommend a complete US troop pullout from Afghanistan by mid 2021 unless the Taliban make it clear that they no longer support Al-Qaida fighters.
The United States is on course to reduce its troop strength to about 8,600 by July, a provision included in the Feb 29, 2020 accord signed with the Taliban.
'Stars and Stripes' which is the US millitary's independent news source quoted Gen McKenzie saying that the main threat to the US was not the Taliban, but those forces which they allow to operate from Afghanistan.
Gen McKenzie on Wednesday pointed out that the Taliban is yet to meet conditions they agreed to in the February agreement, including cracking down on terrorist groups.
He said that if the Islamist militia were to do so then it would be comfortable in recommending a full withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan by May 2021.
Gen. McKenzie’s remarks come close on the heels of news reports that claimed that US President Donald Trump had demanded that the Pentagon finalise plans for a full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by the November 3 presidential elections.
If media reports are to be believed Pentagon officials have tried to push back on such hasty withdrawal schemes but are obliged to offer the president the plans nevertheless.
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