US Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan has arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit to meet with military commanders and Afghan officials amid a heightened push by Washington for a peace deal with the Taliban.
Shanahan, who arrived early on February 11, told reporters traveling with him that he will stress in talks with Afghan leaders that they will be the ones to ultimately decide their future, including the final nature of any potential peace with the Taliban.
“It is important that the Afghan government is involved in discussions regarding Afghanistan,” Shanahan said. “The Afghans have to decide what Afghanistan looks like in the future. It’s not about the US, it is about Afghanistan”
Some in Afghanistan have opposed any peace deal with the Taliban, while the Taliban have so far refused to negotiate with the government in Kabul, calling government officials puppets of the West.
Shanahan also said he has no instructions from the White House to reduce the troop level in Afghanistan from the current 14,000.
Shanahan’s trip comes as the US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, is setting off on a visit to several key countries as part of efforts to push a US peace initiative for the war-torn country.