The US President Donald Trump has said that he will reduce the number of US troops from 14,000 to 8,600 as the Taliban negotiators insist on the complete withdrawal of the American and other NATO forces form the country in their talks with the US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha over the past several months.
“We’re going down to 8,600 [troops] and then we’ll make a determination from there as to what happens,” Fox News Radio cited Trump on Thursday.
Trump also confirmed that negotiators are working on a US troop drawdown in Afghanistan, but offered assurances that the US will keep a “presence” in the country.
“We’re not fighting a war over there—we’re just policemen,” Trump added. “We could win that war so fast if I wanted to kill 10 million people, Brian, but I don’t. I’m not looking to kill a big portion of that country,” Trump told Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade.
Trump’s comments come as the senior negotiators from the US and the Taliban were seem to be approaching to a final peace deal based on which US forces would withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for assurances by the Taliban insurgents that Afghanistan would not become a haven for other terrorist groups.
“We have to watch Afghanistan,” Trump said. “I don’t know if that deal is going to happen.”
This comes as sources familiar with the talks between the US and the Taliban reported earlier in the day that disagreements between the Taliban and the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on issues around a permanent ceasefire and the modality of American forces withdrawal from Afghanistan are prolonging the negotiations in Doha, Qatar.
This is at a time that critics say ordinary Afghans and the political leadership are impatiently waiting to see what comes out of months of negotiations between the two sides.
However, the talks between the two sides were initially expected to be wrapped up on Tuesday, but a Taliban spokesman in Doha Suhail Shaheen who is also part of the process said in a tweet that the negotiations will end by the end of Thursday.
“The main issue is around a ceasefire. The Americans insist that the Taliban should agree on a permanent ceasefire after sealing an agreement with the US. But the Taliban argue that if we announce a ceasefire, [President] Ashraf Ghani will hold the election. The Taliban want the [presidential] election to be delayed and instead, an interim government should be formed and then they will announce a ceasefire with the interim government,” said Saleh Registani, an expert familiar with the talks.
Trump’s comments come a day after NATO Senior Civilian Representative for Afghanistan, Nicolas Kay, said that international forces will remain in Afghanistan even after a peace agreement in order to support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.
“Let me assure you very very clearly, NATO is not leaving, NATO is committed to staying and supporting Afghan national defense and security forces,” Mr. Kay said.
Some 14,000 US troops have remained in Afghanistan within the framework of NATO Resolute Support Mission (RS) to train, advice and assist the conventional Afghan security forces.