Small Wars Journal

All U.S. Troops to Leave Afghanistan in 14 Months if Taliban Meets Commitments of Peace Deal Signed Today

Sat, 02/29/2020 - 11:03am

All U.S. Troops to Leave Afghanistan in 14 Months if Taliban Meets Commitments of Peace Deal Signed Today by Matthew Lee, Katy Gannon and Howard Altman - Associated Press / Military Times

The United States and the Taliban have signed a peace agreement aimed at ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan, America’s longest.

The signing could help President Donald Trump fulfill a key campaign promise to extract America from its “endless wars.” Under the agreement, the U.S. will begin withdrawing thousands of troops in exchange for Taliban commitments to prevent Afghanistan from being a launchpad for terrorist attacks.

If the Taliban meet their commitments, all U.S. troops would leave in 14 months.

There are about 13,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, with that number set to drawdown to about 8,600 in the coming weeks. Further drawdowns are to depend on the Taliban meeting certain counter-terrorism conditions, compliance that will be assessed by the United States.

Speaking to troops in Kabul, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said meeting the ultimate drawdown goal depends on what the Taliban do…

Read on.