US rules out hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): The United States has renewed its commitment to a diplomatic effort to end the conflict in Afghanistan the longest war in in America’s history.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin reiterated the US commitment on the second and final day of NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
The Biden administration was conducting a thorough review of the conditions of the US-Taliban agreement to determine whether all parties had adhered to their promises, he said.
A Pentagon statement quoted Austin as reassuring allies that the US would not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Austin thanked allies for their continued commitment to NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
Also on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a virtual news conference the alliance would exit Afghanistan only when security conditions on the ground allowed it.
PAN Monitor/mud

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