Biden Talks US Troops Pullout While Hosting Afghan Leaders

By Staff, Agencies

US President Joe hosted a visiting Afghan government delegation at the Oval Office on Friday for talks about planned withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from the war-ravaged country.

The high-ranking delegation led by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also includes the head of Afghanistan’s National Reconciliation Council Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Vice President Amrullah Saleh and Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar, among others.

The much-anticipated meeting comes weeks before the drawdown of foreign forces from Afghanistan is complete and amidst dangerous spike in violence targeting both civilians and government forces.

The military drawdown, which formally began on May 1, has sparked a wave of fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban terrorists, dealing heavy blows to ongoing intra-Afghan 'peace' talks in Doha.

Ghani’s beleaguered government in Kabul has been under tremendous pressure with mounting attacks in different parts of the country and loss of sizable territory to Taliban.

It has also faced growing calls from the US government to step aside for a transitional government, as agreed between the Taliban and the US government in their so-called ‘peace deal.’