Under new plan, US to exit Afghanistan in 3 to 5 years

Washington, March 2: The US has found itself stuck in the quagmire of Afghanistan for over 17 years seeing three presidencies now. The deadline of pulling out of the war-ravaged nation has only been missed as the security situation there has not shown considerable improvement.

However, under a new Pentagon plan being offered in peace negotiations, all US forces would withdraw from Afghanistan over the next three to five years, according to a report published in the New York Times on Thursday, February 28,

The rest of the international force stationed in Afghanistan would also exit the country around the same time, it was reported. "The plan is being discussed with European allies and was devised, in part, to appeal to President Trump, who has long expressed skepticism of enduring American roles in wars overseas," the NYT report added.

The new plan eyes cutting by half the 14,000-strong American troops that are currently deployed in Afghanistan.

It would also assign the responsibility to train the Afghan military to over 8,500 European and other international troops. This though has been a long-term goal of the foreign forces but hasn't been successful yet. Internal squabble and corruption have been two reasons that have left the local regime in Afghanistan weak.

The US is currently having talks with the Taliban over Afghanistan peace in Doha, Qatar.

The plan so far has been supported by the US administration and Nato but American officials warned that it could be upended by President Donald Trump any time.

Taliban refuse reports

The Taliban though said in a statement released on the same day that such a suggestion was never raised in their talks with US negotiators in Qatar, reported Afghanistan's TOLO News. It also said that an interim government was also not discussed during the Doha talks.