{"id":115460,"date":"2021-02-19T23:21:42","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T23:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/02\/19\/secdef-urges-immediate-reduction-in-taliban-violence\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:30:08","slug":"secdef-urges-immediate-reduction-in-taliban-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/02\/19\/secdef-urges-immediate-reduction-in-taliban-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense Secretary Austin urges immediate reduction in Taliban violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in his first news conference as Pentagon chief, said Friday that progress toward peace<\/a> in Afghanistan and an end to U.S. military involvement there depends on the Taliban reducing attacks.<\/a> He said, right now, \u201cclearly the violence is too high.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He refused, however, to say when the U.S. will decide if it will meet the May 1 deadline for full troop withdrawal,<\/a> or if America and its NATO allies will try to renegotiate the peace deal with the Taliban and keep some troops there longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are mindful of the looming deadlines, but we want to do this methodically and deliberately,\u201d Austin said. \u201cBut we\u2019re focused on making sure that we make the right decisions, and we\u2019ll go through this process deliberately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afghanistan is shaping up as a major national security dilemma for Austin and the rest of President Joe Biden\u2019s fledgling national security team. There is little political appetite to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but pulling them out risks further empowering the Taliban and causing a resurgence in terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the deal with the Taliban struck by the Trump administration one year ago this month, the United States promised a phased withdrawal of troops, so that by May 1, 2021, all foreign troops would be gone. For their part, the Taliban committed to starting peace talks with the Afghan government, ending attacks on American forces, and publicly renouncing all ties to al-Qaida and other extremist groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to Pentagon reporters, Austin made it clear that the Taliban violence \u201cmust decrease now,\u201d and that progress in negotiations with the Afghan government must move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In
In this Jan. 10, 2021, file photo, Afghan security personnel remove a damaged vehicle after a deadly roadside bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Rahmat Gul\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Austin, a retired four-star Army general who oversaw U.S. forces in Afghanistan and across the Mideast for three years during the Obama administration at the head of U.S. Central Command, said the Biden administration is reviewing the options for its next steps in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have been deployed for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

American forces make up about 2,500 of the roughly 10,000 troops training and advising the Afghans. And allies have suggested a willingness to continue the mission if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that her government is willing to keep troops in Afghanistan longer if needed to ensure that the country does not descend into chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithdrawal must not mean that the wrong forces get the upper hand again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austin, who met with NATO defense ministers this week, said he assured allies that they will be kept informed as the U.S. considers its options. And, he said he told them that \u201cthe United States will not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal from Afghanistan that puts their forces or the alliance\u2019s reputation at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In remarks earlier Friday to a virtual meeting of the Munich Security Conference, Biden gave no indication of his plan for troop levels in Afghanistan. He pledged to support the peace process and to ensure that Afghanistan does not revert to being a launching pad for international terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday the allies are holding out hope for a \u201cre-energized\u201d peace process that could lead to a cease-fire as a step toward a final political settlement. Short of that, the choices for the U.S. and NATO are difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are faced with very hard and difficult dilemmas,\u201d Stoltenberg told reporters after Austin and his fellow NATO defense ministers consulted by video teleconference. \u201cBecause, if we stay beyond May 1, we risk more violence, we risk more attacks against our own troops, and we risk, of course, also to be part of a continued presence in Afghanistan that will be difficult. But, if we leave, then we also risk that the gains we have made are lost and that Afghanistan again could become a safe haven for international terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other comments on Friday, Austin said the ongoing Pentagon effort to root out racism and extremism in the military will likely identify just a small number of problems in the force. \u201cBut, quite frankly, they\u2019ll probably be a little bit larger than most of us would guess,\u201d he added. \u201cI would just say that … small numbers in this case can have an outsized impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austin also said he spoke on Thursday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who is the kingdom\u2019s defense chief. He said he delivered the message that Biden has decided the U.S. will no longer support offensive Saudi military operations in Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey heard that message loud and clear,\u201d said Austin, who knows many key leaders in the Middle East from his years as head of U.S. Central Command from 2013 to 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Afghanistan is shaping up as a major national security dilemma for Austin and the rest of President Joe Biden\u2019s fledgling national security team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":27676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":88,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home","flashpoints"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","disaster","middle-column","home","flashpoints"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home","flashpoints"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","middle-column","home","flashpoints"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[10,29,116,117,15,86,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1418,2496],"class_list":["post-115460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-news","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"36PEC3SLM5GOPIL7E6VD63H564","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2021\/02\/19\/secdef-urges-immediate-reduction-in-taliban-violence\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nDefense Secretary Austin urges immediate reduction in Taliban violence - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Afghanistan is shaping up as a major national security dilemma for Austin and the rest of President Joe Biden\u2019s fledgling national security team.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defense Secretary Austin urges immediate reduction in Taliban violence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Afghanistan is shaping up as a major national security dilemma for Austin and the rest of President Joe Biden\u2019s fledgling national security team.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/02\/19\/secdef-urges-immediate-reduction-in-taliban-violence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-19T23:21:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T13:30:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lolita C. 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