The Taliban leadership in a letter on Tuesday warned President Donald Trump against increasing the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is said to be a home to the longest war in U.S. history.
“Previous experiences have shown that sending more troops to Afghanistan will not result in anything other than further destruction of American military and economical might,’’ the letter said.
The Taliban encouraged Trump to withdraw his troops and said that privatising the war effort would be a grave mistake.
“If he couldn’t win the war with “professional U.S. and NATO troops you shall never be able to win it with mercenaries, notorious contractor firms and immoral stooges,’’ the message read.
U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis, said that the Trump administration was very close to announcing its military strategy for Afghanistan.
In a recent report to Congress when the plan was still in its early stages, the Defence Department said it would increase the number of troops by several thousand, mostly to reinforce NATO’s train and assist mission Resolute Support.
There are about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, down from around 100,000 in 2010 and 2011.
Afghan forces are stretched thin, with the Taliban opening up dozens of fronts across the country.
In recent weeks, Trump is said to have given the initial plan second thoughts.
U.S. media report said that the president is now also considering more radical options, such as a complete troop withdrawal or replacing U.S. military forces with security contractors.
U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan since they invaded in 2001. (dpa/NAN)
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