U.S. seeks to reassure skeptical Afghan army
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — The top American commander in Afghanistan sought to reassure Afghan forces on Thursday that they still had the full backing of the United States, after a report that the support was being dialed back in preparation for an imminent peace deal with the Taliban.
The fighting in Afghanistan has intensified as U.S. diplomats and the insurgents have worked through eight rounds of negotiations in Qatar. Afghan forces and the Taliban have both sought to increase their political leverage through violence, with both sides suffering heavy casualties and civilians bearing the brunt of the attacks.
But on Monday, Newsweek magazine, citing anonymous sources in Washington, said that U.S. personnel had been ordered to limit offensive operations against the Taliban and to stop advising Afghan forces.
Gen. Austin S. Miller, who leads the U.S. and NATO missions in Afghanistan, brushed aside such reports as “false.”
“We will continue to provide the same support we are providing today to the Afghan forces,” he told reporters in Kabul, with Afghanistan’s defense minister, Asadullah Khalid, standing at his side.
Miller added, however, that the future of the United States presence in Afghanistan would be decided by political work, in which officials are talking to both the Taliban and the Afghan government.
He said he was working with Afghan leaders “to determine the right levels of all our actions — that includes air support, ground operations and protection of the force.”
It was an apparent acknowledgment that preparation is underway to reduce the U.S. military presence in the country as part of a timetable for withdrawing all foreign forces, a central demand of the Taliban in the talks.
“We are planning closely with the Afghan security leadership,” Miller said. “I will also let you know that I am always looking for ways to optimize the force structure here in Afghanistan, all the time.”
Afghan forces, which depend on the United States and its allies for their salaries and for crucial air support during operations, worry about what an American deal with the Taliban could mean for their position.
Except for the country’s special forces, who carry out regular offensive raids, they have been almost entirely on the defensive in recent months, suffering heavy casualties as the Taliban have besieged their bases — although they endured much of the crucial spring fighting season without losing further territory.