The meeting was Milley’s second with the Taliban — a detail not disclosed to the public until Thursday. In Kabul, Milley met with senior U.S. officials, including Army Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. About 4,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, military officials said. “Clearly, the Taliban use violence as leverage.”Senior military commanders recommended against withdrawing more U.S. troops this year, citing the tenuous situation in Afghanistan, senior defense officials have said. Then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper sent a classified memo to the White House in November with a similar recommendation, citing the advice of senior military commanders, the senior officials said.

Source: Washington Post December 17, 2020 17:23 UTC