Top US military leaders claimed ignorance on whether a peace agreement expected to be signed on Saturday contains secret annexes.
Earlier, Time magazine reported that the deal contains secret annexes including on US keeping counterterrorism forces in Afghanistan.
Another provision calls on US military and Taliban to create a counterterrorism center where they would share counterterrorism information, Barnett R. Rubin, of the Center on International Cooperation of New York University and the Quincy Institute in Washington, D.C., wrote for Washington Post.
All of this was news to both Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when they were asked about the reported secret annexes during Wednesday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing.
Esper told US lawmaker Liz Cheney whether he was aware of any secret provisions that would be part of the peace agreement, but he deferred to the State Department.
Esper was pressed on whether he was aware of US negotiators might include “secret side deals” in the peace deal.
“Nothing comes to mind right now, that you’re mentioning,” Esper replied. “I know there’s the base agreement and some annexes. I don’t know if those have been agreed upon as secret or something but I will certainly raise that with the secretary of state.”
Regarding the U.S. military and Taliban potentially fighting terrorist groups together, Cheney asked Milley to denounce “the lunacy of pretending that the Taliban is a partner for counterterrorism cooperation” and to promise that there would be no Taliban/U.S. military counterterrorism center.
“I’ll be candid: You’re quoting things that I haven’t seen,” Milley replied, adding that he would review whatever provisions are part of the pending peace deal.
“I would not support sharing intelligence with that organization,” Milley said.
