WASHINGTON - The US Defense Secretary Mark Esper at a Pentagon news conference said Monday he wasn't sure if the drawdown had begun, but he said it must start within 10 days of the US-Taliban peace agreement that was signed on Saturday.
“The agreement says that we would reduce down to 8,600 within 135 days, if I recall correctly. And that drawdown would begin in the first 10 days. But I -- you know, my instruction to the commander was let's get moving; let's show our full faith and effort to do that,” Esper said.
“As you know, I've said on many occasions that I'm comfortable we can still conduct all the missions we need to conduct at 8,600,” he said.
There are roughly 13,000 American troops in Afghanistan.
Esper also said that a joint declaration on bringing peace to Afghanistan, which was announced on Saturday in Kabul, reaffirms the United States' partnership with the government of Afghanistan.
“This was an important first step toward a political solution to end the war in Afghanistan,” Esper said, adding: “As I reiterated to our Afghan partners, this is a conditions-based agreement...We're watching the Taliban's actions closely to assess whether they are upholding their commitments.”
Also on Monday, the Taliban announced it had resumed offensive operations against Afghan security forces.
In response to a question that noted there has already been some violent attacks, particularly around Khost province on Monday, Esper said:
“If the prisoners are not released on time than the intra-Afghan talks will be delayed,” Stanikzai said, adding that “the US has guaranteed to free the prisoners.” (TOLO NEWS)