Is the United States about to comply with Taliban demands?

Tabnak – While during the recent months Afghanistan has been faced with increased Taliban attacks and violence, US’ uncertainty on how to devise its new Afghan strategy has further complicated the situation. This comes as Taliban warned Washington over any possible new force dispatch to the country.

In this vein, recent remarks by the US Defense Secretary has sparked many debates on the issue. James Mattis said on Monday that "all options” remained on the table over a new strategy for Afghanistan and "full withdrawal” is also possible.

According to Mattis, Donald Trump's administration was "very, very close" to finalizing its new strategy for Afghanistan, but he warned it had not been settled yet. 

"The strategic decisions have not been made," Mattis said adding that "all options" remained on the table for how to approach Afghanistan, and said those options included a full withdrawal as well as a proposal for the use of more contractors to manage the US effort there.

Mattis, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster have worked for months to craft strategy options for Donald Trump. Mattis said both withdrawal and a private contracted force were still under consideration. 

Mattis’ remarks come as the Taliban warned US President Donald Trump in an open letter on Tuesday that the military situation in Afghanistan was "far worse than you realize", and sending in more troops would be self-destructive.

A senior Taliban official told Reuters the rare decision to address Trump directly was timed to coincide with the president's deliberations on the future of US policy in Afghanistan.

"Previous experiences have shown that sending more troops to Afghanistan will not result in anything other than further destruction of American military and economical might," the Taliban said in the lengthy English-language letter.

Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that Trump has recognized the errors of his predecessors by seeking a review of the US strategy for Afghanistan. However, Mujahid said Trump should not hand control of the US Afghan policy to the military but rather announce the withdrawal of US forces — and not an increase in troops as the administration has planned.

Associated Press notes that Trump has so far resisted the Pentagon's recommendations to send almost 4,000 more troops to expand training of Afghan military forces and bolster US counterterrorism operations. The deployment has been held up amid broader strategy questions, including how to engage regional powers in an effort to stabilize Afghanistan.

The senior US commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, has requested additional troops. Influential voices including Republican Senator John McCain have also urged an "enduring" US military presence in Afghanistan.

The United States now has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. The new strategy for Afghanistan was expected about a month ago. However, it is not clear whether and how new Taliban warnings could affect this new strategy.