Pentagon: US Drawdown From Afghanistan Continuing, Timeline Will Be Met

Taliban deal meant to see pullout in 14 months

US troops continue to withdraw from Afghanistan, and while there is no number being offered by the Pentagon, they do say that the process is not only continuing, but is expected to meet the timeline of the Taliban peace deal.

The peace deal was intentionally a bit vague on this question, but did say that if all was well, the US would be out of Afghanistan within 14 months. That timeline still seems achievable, with previous reports suggesting the US was well ahead on the process.

In recent months, the US was also seen to be driven by President Trump’s concern about coronavirus in Afghanistan, and the desire to get US troops out of the country before the virus took hold too much.

While the Afghan government has continued to push the idea that the Taliban is violating the deal, so far there is no sign that the US is taking the government’s criticism too seriously, and are continuing to move forward in spite of the lack of progress on intra-Afghan talks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.