Pentagon says no decision yet on troops withdrawal from Afghanistan

Pentagon says that Washington is ready to “orderly” pullout forces from Afghanistan if US President Joe Biden decides to withdraw.

Under the US-Taliban agreement, which was signed last year in Doha, foreign troops should leave Afghanistan by May 1 “if the Taliban meets certain conditions.” 

Pentagon said that there are currently almost 10,000 foreign troops – including 2,500 US soldiers – in Afghanistan.

Addressing the reporters on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby stated that US has not completed its review over troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Kirby emphasized that no decision has been made yet.

Kirby noted that if the president decides to withdraw, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is confident that Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, the commander of U.S. Central Command, and Army Gen. Austin Miller, the commander of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission and U.S. Forces — Afghanistan, “will get it done in a safe, orderly and effective way.”

Kirby told reporters that one of the reasons Secretary Austin went to Afghanistan “to meet with Afghan and US leaders was to listen to them, their concerns and see the situation for himself.”

He noted that Austin was in Kabul not to deliver a message to President Ashraf Ghani, but “to listen and learn.”

“It will inform his participation in the review that’s ongoing… And it will certainly inform the advice, whatever advice that might be, that he will give to President Biden,” Kirby said.

Kirby restated: “We all want to see a responsible end to this war that is sustainable, and it’s based on a negotiated political settlement. That’s what we’re all driving to.”

This comes as US State Secretary Antony Blinken stated Tuesday NATO Allies and partners remain firmly committed to Afghanistan’s long-term security and stability through the Resolute Support training mission.

“We will ensure that Afghan soil is never again used to launch an attack on America or her allies,” he said.

“As stated at the NATO Defense Ministerial, the U.S. and our NATO Allies and partners are pushing for a responsible end to the war in Afghanistan. As Allies we must remain unified: we went in together, we will adjust together, and when the time is right, we will leave together,” Blinken tweeted.