A top U.S. commander has voiced his disappointment at the level of violence being used by the Taliban, claiming that attacks are higher than the February 29 peace deal allows, as the military begins to pull out of two Afghan bases.
Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command (CENTOM) and the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, revealed his skepticism Tuesday that the Taliban had the ability or the will to break ties with al Qaeda.
The United States signed an agreement with the Taliban on February 29 under which the end off all ties to the terrorist group responsible for the September 11 attacks was a main requirement.
The plan calls for a phased withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces if the Taliban keeps its commitments and for the start of talks between the insurgents and an Afghan government delegation on a political settlement to end decades of conflict.
Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee, however, McKenzie said that he would recommend against full withdrawal of American troops if Taliban attacks continued at the current levels of violence.
Hillary Clinton also criticized the deal on Tuesday claiming that it was rushing a peace that ‘will not hold anyway’.
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, claims he does not advise a full withdrawal from Afghanistan after recent Taliban attacks
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Tuesday at United Nations Headquarters on a panel about including women in the peace process in Afghanistan
Afghan men cry at a hospital after they heard that their relative was killed during an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 6. The attack was one of many that has concerned a top U.S. commander about the future of the United States’ peace deal with the Taliban
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, pictured left, and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, pictured right, shake hands during the signing ceremony of the US-Taliban peace agreement in Doha, Qatar, on February 29
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, Jr., left, walks to a House Armed Services hearing Tuesday where he warned about recent Taliban violence
‘That’s something they’re going to have to demonstrate that has not yet been demonstrated,’ McKenzie said of the Taliban’s promise to cut al Qaeda ties.
He added that there is a clause built into the agreement that will allow U.S. forces to remain in Afghanistan at sufficient levels to ensure al Qaeda can not threaten the United States.
The withdrawal comes with the condition that the Taliban prevents ‘any group or individual, including al-Qaeda, from using the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies’.
McKenzie continued to say that the levels of violence and recent Taliban attacks on Afghan forces were ‘not consistent with the movement toward a negotiated settlement, and they are not consistent with the undertaking they made’.
With Taliban attacks at its current level, McKenzie argued ‘my advice would be to not continue that reduction’.
‘We don’t need to trust them. We don’t need to like them. We don’t need to believe anything they say. We need to observe what they do,’ he added.
The statement came as the U.S. began withdrawing troops from two Afghan bases.
The US military spokesman in Afghanistan, Sonny Leggett, said in a statement Tuesday that the military had begun its ‘conditions-based reduction of forces to 8,600 over 135 days’.
Currently, the US has about 13,000 soldiers in Afghanistan – 8,000 of whom are involved in training and advising Afghanistan’s National Security Forces, while about 5,000 are involved in anti-terror operations and militarily supporting the Afghan army when they are requested.
The US will close five of its 20 bases across the country and has committed to removing all forces in 14 months
Afghan Taliban fighters and villagers attend a gathering as they celebrate the peace deal signed between US and Taliban in Laghman Province, Alingar district on March 2, 2020
America also praised Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s (pictured) promise to start releasing Taliban prisoners after he had delayed for over a week
Troops have started leaving one base in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province in the south, and another base in Herat in the east, a US official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
America also praised Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s promise to start releasing Taliban prisoners after he had delayed for over a week.
The US-Taliban deal signed on February 29 was touted as Washington’s effort to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan.
The next crucial step was to be intra-Afghan talks in which all factions including the Taliban would negotiate a road map for their country’s future.
But Ghani and his main political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, were each sworn in as president in separate ceremonies on Monday.
Abdullah and the elections complaints commission had charged fraud in last year’s vote.
The dueling inaugurations have thrown plans for talks with the Taliban into chaos, although Ghani said Tuesday that he’d start putting together a negotiating team.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, foreground left, delivers the keynote speech at an event entitled ‘Group of Friends of Afghanistan’ Tuesday at the United Nations
Earlier on Tuesday at the United Nations, Clinton appeared to take a swipe at the U.S. deal with the Taliban, saying: ‘It is difficult to have an agreement when you leave out the government of the country that you are expecting to uphold and live under that agreement.’
Speaking at an event on Afghan women’s rights, she also stressed the need for women to be at the negotiating table.
‘Afghan women today are rightly afraid… that the gains they have made with all of our help will be washed away in a rush to achieve a peace that will not hold anyway,’ Clinton said.
‘This is not just morally wrong, this is dangerous.’
The Security Council resolution emphasized the importance of including women, youth and minorities and ensuring any political settlement protects their rights.
Mahram Ali (right), 68, sits while waiting for an ambulance to carry the dead body of his 17-year-old daughter Fariba (left) from the hospital to their home after gunmen attacked a political gathering in Kabul, Afghanistan. There has been a high level of violence since the peace deal
Afghan men carry the coffin of a victim who was killed in Friday’s deadly attack on memorial ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan. A U.S. commander voiced concern about the violence
An Afghan police officer stands guard as relatives bring the bodies of the victims to a protest following an airstrike on February 15. U.S. forces have begun to pull out of the country
The United States warned the Taliban on Tuesday that the current high level of violence by the insurgents was ‘not conducive to advancing the peace process’ as the United Nations Security Council backed a U.S.-led push to end Afghanistan’s 18-year war.
‘We acknowledge the Taliban have taken steps to stop attacks in cities and against major bases,’ Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Cherith Norman Chalet told the U.N. Security Council.
‘But more needs to be done and we urge them to also reduce violence against Afghan forces in the countryside to give intra-Afghan negotiations and peace the opportunity to succeed,’ she said after the 15-member council unanimously adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution on Afghanistan.
The U.N. resolution welcomed ‘the significant steps towards ending the war and opening the door to intra-Afghan negotiations’ enabled by separate U.S. agreements with the Taliban and the Afghan government.
The council also expressed a ‘readiness upon the commencement of the intra-Afghan negotiations to consider the start of the review of the status’ of Taliban sanctions.
Compounding the challenges faced by Afghanistan, an escalating political feud is also threatening political chaos.
Afghan President Ghani was sworn in for a second term on Monday, but the ceremony was marred by a rocket attack and his political rival, former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, held his own inauguration ceremony.
Both Ghani and Abdullah say they are Afghanistan’s rightful leader following a disputed election in September.
‘We are strongly against the establishment of any parallel administrations or government structures and we call on all concerned to come together and resolve differences constructively,’ British U.N. Ambassador Karen Pierce said in remarks directed at Adbullah.