U.S. vows to coordinate with allies on any Afghanistan pullout

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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrapped up two days of important discussions between Allied Defense Ministers in Brussels on Thursday. Ministers discussed arms control, current operations and missions, burden-sharing, and European defense. The secretary-general described the Alliance as "in good shape" as its approaches its 70th anniversary in April.

All Allies agreed that Russia's violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty poses a significant threat to transatlantic security. The secretary-general called again on Russia to take this last opportunity to come back into compliance. "All Allies stand ready to engage further with Russia. But we are also preparing for a world without the INF Treaty," he said.

A number of NATO Allies offered contributions to the "Four Thirties" Readiness Initiative, which will ensure 30 combat ships, 30 land battalions, and 30 air squadrons, are ready to deploy within 30 days or less. This will increase NATO's "ability to respond quickly and decisively to any future crisis."

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan sought to reassure nervous NATO allies that any potential U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan will be done in a coordinated fashion, which could calm European concern about a precipitous drawdown.

U.S. officials have held several rounds of talks with the Taliban in Qatar since last year, in what is widely seen as the most serious bid for peace in the 17-year war.

Both the hardline ISIL movement and the U.S. hailed progress after the end of the last round of negotiations last month, although Western diplomats familiar with discussions say that many tough hurdles lie ahead.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan holds a news conference during a NATO defense ministers' meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 14, 2019. /VCG Photo

Shanahan said he told his NATO counterparts that the U.S.-led alliance would work together to increase what he called diplomatic leverage over the Taliban as the West seeks a political settlement.

"There will be no unilateral troop reduction, it will be coordinated," Shanahan told reporters following his first meeting of NATO defense ministers after his predecessor quit in December. "We came out of here much stronger and coordinated."

In his State of the Union address last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said progress in negotiations with the Taliban would allow a reduction in the approximately 14,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan and a renewed focus on counter terrorism.

Taliban negotiators will meet their U.S. counterparts on February 18 in Pakistan's capital Islamabad.

U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad briefed NATO envoys on Monday about his push to agree a political settlement and Stoltenberg promised the alliance would draw down its military presence together if a deal was agreed.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan meets with Afghan Defense Minister Asadullah Khalid during his visit in Kabul, Afghanistan, February 11, 2019. /VCG Photo

Shanahan echoed: "We work together, President Trump said it is an opportunity for peace ... so what we talked about was how do we double down in our support for an Afghan national defense and security forces to put even more pressure on the Taliban."

"I feel really good about our alignment. I feel we are creating the diplomatic leverage that Ambassador Khalilzad needs."

The U.S. troops in Afghanistan are part of a NATO-led mission known as Resolute Support, and a U.S. counter-terrorism mission largely directed against groups such as ISIL and Al Qaeda.

Some 8,000 troops from 38 other countries are participating in Resolute Support.

(Cover: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg holds a press conference following the North Atlantic Council of Defense Ministers, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 14, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters