*WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is ready to withdraw six thousandsof troops from Afghanistan as part of in initial deal to end the nearly18-year-old war with Taliban, US officials said.*
American Newspaper ‘*The Washington Post’ *reported that the agreement,which would require the Taliban to begin negotiating a larger peace dealdirectly with the Afghan government, could cut the number of Americantroops in the country from roughly 14,000 to between 8,000 and 9,000, theofficials said.
That number would be nearly the same as when President Trump took office.The plan has taken shape after months of negotiations between the Talibanand Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born American diplomat who was appointed bythe Trump administration last year to jump-start talks.
Officials said an agreement could be finalized ahead of the Afghanpresidential election in September, though they cautioned that Talibanleaders could delay and that significant challenges remain.
The proposal is likely to be viewed skeptically by some US and Afghanofficials who question the Taliban’s honesty and wonder how the UnitedStates can verify whether Taliban leaders are following through. But ifapproved, it would be one of the most significant steps toward ending thewar, a goal that increasingly has bipartisan support.
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“I would say that they are 80 or 90 per cent of the way there,” said oneofficial, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discussdetails of the emerging deal. “But there is still a long way to go on thatlast 10 or 20 per cent.”
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, declined to comment about thelikelihood of an initial agreement. In a brief telephone interviewThursday, he said he did not know when talks would resume.
“We are hopeful,” he said. “Things look promising that there will be abreakthrough. We hope there won’t be any obstacle, but it also depends onthe seriousness of the Americans.”
