Pentagon chief urges immediate reduction in Taliban violence
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in his first news conference as Pentagon chief, said that the end to U.S. military involvement there depends on the violence which he said, right now, was “too high.”
“I urge all parties to choose the path towards peace,” he said. “The violence must decrease now. I told our allies that no matter what the outcome of our review, the United States will not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan that puts their forces or the alliance’s reputation at risk” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday briefing on the results of NATO’s virtual Defense Ministerial meeting.
U.S. defense secretary assured the NATO allies that “There will be no surprises. We will consult each other, consult together and decide together and act together.”
Austin said that the Biden administration had not yet decided whether the United States would withdraw its troops by the May 1 deadline under the U.S.-Taliban agreement. By May 2021, all foreign forces would leave the war-weary country, according to the deal brokered between the United State and Taliban last February. There are about 2,500 U.S. troops currently in the country.
“We are committed to a responsible and sustainable end to this war, while preventing Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups that threaten the interest of the United States and our allies,” he said.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg recently said that the alliance has not yet decided if its 10,000 troops in Afghanistan will leave by May, in accordance with a peace deal brokered between the U.S. and the Taliban.
“Violence has to be reduced and the Taliban has to stop cooperating with international terrorist groups that are planning terrorist attacks in our countries,” Stoltenberg told reporters at the conclusion of a two-day virtual NATO defense ministers meeting.
