Trump weighs partial US pullout from Afghanistan as both sides step up attacks
WASHINGTON - U.S. officials are struggling to seal a deal with the Taliban that would allow President Donald Trump to fulfill his pledge to slash the number of American troops in Afghanistan, and eventually end the United States' longest war, without the Asian country sliding deeper into violence or again becoming a sanctuary for terrorists.
Days after Zalmay Khalilzad, the top U.S. envoy to the Afghan peace process, announced in Kabul that an "agreement in principle" had been reached with the Taliban, he rushed back to the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, where he's spent a year negotiating with the Islamic group, which remains a deadly insurgent force 18 years after U.S. troops drove it from power.
If Trump signs off on the draft deal, the U.S. would withdraw about 5,400 troops by next spring, leaving roughly 8,600 in place. The remaining U.S. forces would support Afghan troops with training, airstrikes and
