President Donald Trump and his national security team had an hour-long classified meeting on political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan Friday, which comes after Doha talks summed up to a drafted-conclusion on US troops withdrawal.
The meeting at the Pentagon included US Vice President Mike Pence, Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton, among others, US media reported.
The session was a classified briefing about Afghanistan, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the subject of the private briefing, wrote Associated Press.
The Pentagon has been considering a measurable effort to withdraw as many as half of the 14,000 troops still in Afghanistan, which indicates one of the key points of negotiations between the Taliban and America.
However, acting secretary of defense Patrick Shanahan, said he has no orders to reduce the US troop presence, despite it being at the top of the Taliban’s list of demands in Afghan peace process.
This comes after US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said in a tweet that he “finished a marathon rounds of talks with the Taliban in Doha”, adding he would discuss the outcome “with other partners”.
“My next step is discussions in Washington and consultations with other partners. We will meet again soon, and there is no final agreement until everything is agreed,” Khalilzad concluded in a tweet.
Khalilzad said peace requires agreement on four issues: counterterrorism assurances, troop withdrawal, intra-Afghan dialogue, and a comprehensive ceasefire.
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