FILE PHOTO: U.S. troops patrol at an Afghan National Army (ANA) Base in Logar province, Afghanistan August 7, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
Al Jazeera: US on track to pull troops out of Afghanistan: Pentagon
Some question whether the US-Taliban agreement aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan was mainly just a withdrawal deal.
The United States is on track to meet its commitment to the Taliban to withdraw several thousand troops from Afghanistan by mid-July, even as violence flares, the peace process is stalled, and Kabul struggles in political deadlock.
US officials say they will reduce to 8,600 troops by July 15 and abandon five bases. By the second quarter of 2021, all foreign forces are supposed to withdraw, ending the US's longest war. Yet the outlook for peace is cloudy at best. In the absence of Afghan peace talks, the administration of US President Donald Trump may face the prospect of fully withdrawing even as the Taliban remains at war with the government.
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Update: US on track to pull troops from Afghanistan despite turmoil (Military Times/AP)
WNU Editor: This is a growing sentiment .... It's time to face reality: US must leave Afghanistan (John Fairlamb, The Hill).
