US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday that any future troop drawdowns in Afghanistan were “not necessarily” linked to a deal with Taliban militant group.
“I feel confident that we could reduce our numbers in Afghanistan and still ensure that place doesn’t become a safe haven for terrorists who could attack the United States,” Esper said in an interview with Reuters.
“And our allies agree we can make reductions as well.”
Asked whether such reductions would necessarily be contingent on some sort of agreement with the Taliban, Esper said: “Not necessarily”
Currently, there are about 13,000 US troops in Afghanistan as well as thousands of other NATO troops. US officials have previously said that US forces could drop to 8,600 and still carry out an effective, core counter-terrorism mission as well as some limited advising for Afghan forces.
A draft deal agreed in September before peace talks collapsed would have withdrawn thousands of US troops in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan would not be used as a base for militant attacks on US and its allies.
