In NYT Op-Ed, Taliban’s Deputy Leader – Wanted by the FBI – Pushes for Complete US Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan
In NYT Op-Ed, Taliban’s Deputy Leader – Wanted by the FBI – Pushes for Complete US Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan by Diana Stancy Correll – Military Times
The Taliban is still angling for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s deputy leader said — comments that come as the U.S. and the Taliban are on the brink of a 7-day agreement to reduce violence.
“We did not choose our war with the foreign coalition led by the United States. We were forced to defend ourselves,” Sirajuddin Haqqani, who the FBI has labeled a designated global terrorist, wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times Thursday. “The withdrawal of foreign forces has been our first and foremost demand.”
Haqqani said a peace deal was forthcoming, and added that the U.S. can then step into a role assisting with postwar development and reconstruction once troops depart. He stressed that once Afghanistan is free from “foreign domination” an Islamic system granting equal rights to all Afghans can be constructed…
