Withdrawal from Afghanistan? NATO chief warns: If the military bloc removes troops, it will pay a high price!

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned on November 17 that the military bloc could pay a high price if it withdraws troops from Afghanistan too early.

The media have reported that US President Donald Trump will soon withdraw a large number of US troops from the war-torn country.

"Now we face a difficult decision. We have been in Afghanistan for almost 20 years and no NATO ally wants to stay longer than necessary. "But at the same time if we leave too quickly or in an uncoordinated way, the price can be very high," Stoltenberg said in a statement.

He said Afghanistan "risks becoming once again a platform for international terrorists to plan and organize attacks in our homelands."

"And ISIS (Islamic State) can rebuild the terrorist caliphate lost in Afghanistan in Syria and Iraq," he said.

Stoltenberg's reaction came after media reports said the Pentagon had received instructions to prepare for the return of another 2,000 US troops from Afghanistan and 500 from Iraq, before President-elect Joe Biden was inaugurated on January 20.

If the withdrawal happens, then there would be 2,500 troops left in each country, less than, as US military officials have said, enough to ensure stability.

The Pentagon has not confirmed the reports regarding the withdrawal, reports REL.

Under an agreement signed in February between the Taliban and the United States, foreign forces will leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for guarantees from the Taliban to commit to severing ties with al-Qaeda and other groups. other international militants.

The Taliban said in a statement on November 10 that they remain committed to implementing the agreement, despite the lack of progress in the inter-Afghan peace negotiations in Qatar.

NATO took over the international security effort in Afghanistan in 2003. In 2014, it began training and advising Afghan security forces, but has gradually withdrawn troops in line with a US-mediated peace deal.

NATO relies heavily on the US military for its mission in Afghanistan.