Biden Administration Not Committing To A Full Drawdown Of Troops From Afghanistan By May

Soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division gather their equipment before boarding a CH-47F Chinook that serves with the Task Force Flying Dragons, or 1st General Support Aviation Battalion., 25th Avn. Regiment, 16th Combat Avn. Brigade, in the Nawa Valley, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Photo: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Whitney Houston | FlickrCC

CNN: Pentagon won't commit to Afghanistan troop withdrawal by May, says Taliban are not honoring commitments to US

(CNN)The Pentagon said Thursday that the Biden administration would not commit to a full drawdown of troops from Afghanistan by May because the Taliban have not honored the commitments they made in their deal with the United States.

That agreement, negotiated under the Trump administration and signed in February 2020, calls for the militant group to reduce violence and cut ties with terrorist organizations, among other demands. If the conditions of the deal were met, US forces would leave Afghanistan by May 2021. The US force level in Afghanistan went down to 2,500 troops just days before former President Donald Trump left office.

"The Taliban have not met their commitments," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said at a news briefing. "Without them meeting their commitments to renounce terrorism and to stop the violent attacks on the Afghan national security forces, and by dint of that the Afghan people, it's very hard to see a specific way forward for the negotiated settlement."

Read more ....

WNU Editor: You do not need to be a genius to know that the Biden administration is now laying the ground work to break the peace agreement with the Taliban. And there is a lot of momentum for this to happen .... NATO countries want to keep forces in Afghanistan but need U.S. support: Afghan president (Reuters).

More News On The Biden Administration Not Committing To A Full Drawdown Of Troops From Afghanistan By May

Taliban violence raises questions about US troop withdrawal -- AP

Pentagon uncertain on pullback date for U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- CNBC

Pentagon warns Taliban on failure to meet commitments on violence, terrorism -- Reuters

Taliban violence gives U.S. pause about meeting treaty deadline to remove troops from Afghanistan -- Yahoo News

Violence May Delay U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan -- New York Times

US says progress hard to see without Taliban commitments -- Al Jazeera

DOD: Taliban Violence Likely to Delay Full Afghanistan Withdrawal -- Air Force Magazine