U.S. DRAFT TROOP PULLOUT DEAL WITH TALIBAN

About:

• Under a draft peace deal with the Taliban the United States will withdraw 5,400 troops from Afghanistan and close five bases within 135 days.
  
  
• The accord requires the insurgent movement to ensure Afghanistan is not used by Al Qaeda or so-called Islamic State as a base for global attacks.
  
  
• Top U.S. negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad showed a draft deal to the Afghan president after declaring that they are “at the threshold of an agreement” following the end of the ninth round of U.S.-Taliban talks in Qatar. The agreement still needs President Donald Trump’s approval.
  
  
• The Taliban, at their strongest since their 2001 defeat by a U.S.-led invasion, want all U.S. and NATO troops out of Afghanistan immediately, while the U.S. seeks a withdrawal in phases that would depend on the Taliban meeting certain conditions such as a reduction in violence.