US Troop Draw Down in Afghanistan by 2021

Biden wants to explore keeping U.S. counter-terrorism troops in Afghanistan: top lawmaker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration is 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.

House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith’s comments provided new details of U.S. President Joe Biden’s conduct of the Afghanistan peace process that he inherited from the Trump administration...

Addressing an online Foreign Policy magazine forum, 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.

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 (Islamic State) 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...

Lawmaker floats another reason to stay in Afghanistan: Keep minerals from China

The United States should stay in Afghanistan because China wants the country’s mineral wealth, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R–Ill.) argued Monday.

Afghans “want the United States to stiffen their spine alongside NATO,” he told the audience at The Hill’s virtual Future of Defense summit. “If we pull out and NATO pulls out, I think it’s pretty obvious it’s going to be pretty difficult for the Afghan government to stay.”

“You look at, frankly, the mineral wealth of Afghanistan, you see how much China wants that to strengthen their grip on the world,” Kinzinger added...

US troops in Afghanistan begin packing gear in pullout prep

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. military has begun shipping equipment and winding down contracts with local service providers ahead of the May 1 start of the final phase of its military pullout from Afghanistan, a U.S. Defense Department official said Thursday.

The pullout under U.S. President Joe Biden marks the end of America’s longest war after a 20-year military engagement. Currently, some 2,500 U.S. soldiers and about 7,000 allied forces are still in Afghanistan.

In February last year, the U.S. military began closing its smaller bases. In mid-April, the Biden administration announced that the final phase of the withdrawal would begin May 1 and be completed before Sept. 11.

Since then, the military has been shipping equipment and winding down local contracts for services such as trash pickup and maintenance work, the U.S. official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with briefing regulations...