Washington: A bipartisan group of nearly two dozen American lawmakers sought assurances and transparency on Thursday on a peace deal with the Taliban that the Trump administration was now considering bringing a lasting peace in war-torn Afghanistan.
In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the defense secretary, these Congressmen called for prioritisation of American security as the US pursued a peace agreement with the Taliban. dated February 27, the letter calls for transparency and highlights the importance of keeping the US safe.
Additionally, it outlines the need for certain security pledges, including that any deal between the US and the Taliban will be public and not contain secret annexes or side deals.
The lawmakers also demanded that there will be no intelligence sharing or a "joint counter-terrorism" centre established with the Taliban.
"We have serious concerns about reports that the United States is preparing to sign a deal with the Taliban, the terrorists who harboured Al-Qaeda before and after the attacks of 9/11. President Trump has a proven track record of putting America's security first and ensuring our country stays out of bad deals that aid our adversaries," the letter said.
Read: Uncertainty looms ahead of US-Taliban deal signing
"In keeping with this policy, we are seeking assurances that you will not place the security of the American people into the hands of the Taliban, and undermine our ally, the current government of Afghanistan," it added.
In the letter, the lawmakers sought assurances that any deal between the US and the Taliban would be public and not contain any secret annexes or side deals and that the administration would not put American security at risk by pretending that the Taliban was a reliable counter-terrorism partner.
The letter said decisions about US troop levels in Afghanistan must be made based on US national security requirements determined by conditions on the ground.
"Therefore, any deal must not contain a commitment for a full US withdrawal at this point. Such a commitment would embolden America's adversaries and undermine our allies, including the Afghan government," the lawmakers said.
"Any deal with the Taliban will include the requirement that the Taliban turn over all Al-Qaeda leaders and operatives who are currently hiding in Taliban strongholds. There will be no uneven or premature release of Taliban prisoners," the Congressmen added.
They also sought assurances that the current sanctions and designations against the Al-Qaeda-allied Haqqani network will remain in place regardless of any deal with the Taliban.
Observing that the Taliban also had a history of extracting concessions in exchange for false assurances, the lawmakers said they would accept nothing less than a full-scale US withdrawal from Afghanistan as they sought to establish their totalitarian "Islamic Emirate".
"Our withdrawal would then allow terrorist groups in Afghanistan to grow stronger and establish safe havens from which to plot attacks against us. Any promises the Taliban may have made to the US related to counterterrorism cannot be trusted, not least because the group is a long-time ally of Al-Qaeda," the Congressmen said.
(PTI)
