The Biden administration is reportedly looking to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan past a May 1 deadline while exploring a deal in which the Taliban would allow a U.S. counter-terrorism force to remain as they confront their Islamic State foes, a top U.S. lawmaker said on Wednesday.
Reuters reported that House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith’s comments provided new details of U.S. President Joe Biden’s possible decision on the exit plan.
Biden has not however made a decision yet on whether all troops will leave Afghanistan by the May 1 deadline.
In a press conference in Brussels on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed this and said he was at the NATO foreign ministers meeting (Tuesday and Wednesday) to listen, learn and consult with allies on the issue.
Biden did however say in a recent interview with NBC News that to meet the May 1 deadline would be “tough”.
The deadline is part of the deal signed in February last year between the US and the Taliban. A deal that Biden inherited from former president Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, speaking in an online Foreign Policy magazine forum this week, Smith said he spoke to national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the withdrawal.
“I think there’s a general feeling that May 1 is too soon, just logistically,” he said. “We’ve got … closer to 3,500 troops in Afghanistan. Our allies have around 7,000.”
“You cannot pull out 10,000-plus troops in any sort of way in six weeks,” he said. He added the administration’s “job one” is talking to the Taliban about allowing the U.S.-led force to remain for a little longer, Reuters reported.
He noted the Taliban demand that all foreign troops leave. If that remains their position, he said, “I don’t see that we have much choice but to leave,” including counter-terrorism forces.
“What the Biden administration wants to do is negotiate past May 1 and then at least explore the option: has the Taliban changed their mind as they … are fighting ISIS (Daesh) almost as much as they are fighting the Afghan government,” Smith continued.
“Might their position change about a U.S. presence? I doubt it. But I think the administration is thinking it’s worth the conversation,” he said.
While the Taliban has been fighting Daesh in Afghanistan, experts say, Islamic State remains a serious threat.
The Taliban have indicated they will resume attacking foreign forces if Biden fails to meet the May 1 deadline, and some experts doubt they would allow any U.S. force to stay.