General Joseph Dunford, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States and member of the Study Group created by the US Congress has warned against rapid US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“The probability of civil war is high in a wake of a precipitous withdrawal by the United States… in our judgement Afghanistan meets the definition of a fragile state,” Dunford said at a virtual meeting of a bipartisan experts group recommended Wednesday after months of studying potential pathways to peace.

“We believe that US withdraw will provide the terrorists an opportunity to reconstitute and in our judgement that reconstitution will take within about 18 to 36 months… The Afghan foces are highly dependent on US funding and operational support and they continue to be for some time to come,” he further added.

In the meantime, speaking at a joint press conference with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said troop withdrawal would put gains of the previous years at risk.

“We are faced with a difficult decision and we have to make that together. Because my message is that there will be costs and challenges whatever we decide. If we decide to leave we risk to jeopardize the peace process. We risk to lose the gains we have made in the fight against international terrorism over the last years and we risk that Afghanistan once again becomes a safe haven for international terrorists,” he said.

NATO chief urged the Taliban to abide by their promises in the peace deal with the USA and added: “My message to the Taliban is that they have to live up to their commitments, especially when it comes to breaking all ties with international terrorists including Al-Qaeda. We need to see reduced violence.”

Arezo News – Humayun Salimi