Iran Press/ Asia: Speaking at a Pentagon news conference, Esper said 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 announced on Saturday. Esper said Gen. Scott Miller, the US commander in Kabul, will begin the withdrawal to about 8,600 troops from the current total of nearly 13,000.
As reported, the agreement with the Taliban followed a seven-day “reduction in violence” period that, from the Trump administration's viewpoint, was meant to test the Taliban's seriousness about moving toward a final peace agreement.
“Our expectation is that the reduction in violence will continue," said Esper, adding that officials will work to determine who is responsible for any acts of violence. “That's going to be the nature of this over the next days, weeks and months,” he said. “I’m not going to get too excited about what happens at the moment. We’re just going to deal with each situation as it arises.”
The US and Taliban have signed an agreement Saturday 29 February, which would set into motion the drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan and potentially pave the way to ending America's longest-fought war.
This is while the US attacked Afghanistan to eliminate the Taliban and has so far killed tens of thousands and millions of Afghan civilians.
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