The US State Department said that it has not made any decisions regarding the size of its forces in Afghanistan, after a bipartisan report to Congress calling on Washington to postpone the administration of former President Donald Trump's plan to withdraw all forces from there by the first of next May.
"So far, no decisions have been made about our forces," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, adding that President Joe Biden's administration is reviewing the troop withdrawal agreement between the United States and the Taliban, which was negotiated by the Trump administration.
This statement comes after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed that the new administration will review the agreement that Trump signed with the Taliban, including its annexes that were not disclosed to the public.
Trump reduced the number of US forces in Afghanistan on January 15 - during the last days of his term - to 2,500, the lowest level since the start of the war.
The Taliban and the former US administration reached an agreement in Doha in February 2020 to withdraw all foreign forces from Afghanistan in exchange for the Taliban’s commitment to prevent the use of Afghan territory by any party or movement to threaten US interests.
The withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan is scheduled to be completed by the end of next April, but Reuters quoted officials in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that the alliance plans to keep its forces in Afghanistan beyond the deadline specified in the agreement between the Taliban and the United States.
The officials stressed that there will be no complete withdrawal of forces by the end of next April, which is what the Taliban movement demands, explaining that there will be policy adjustments with the new US administration.
Muhammad Naeem, a spokesman for the political bureau and a member of the negotiation delegation for the Taliban, had told Al-Jazeera that the stay of foreign forces in Afghanistan for more than the time specified for them violates the agreement reached with the movement.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Naim indicated that the deadline for the survival of these forces is the end of next April, stressing that the movement does not expect foreign forces to violate the agreement, considering that denying it is not in the interest of any party.
Afghanistan Study Group
In the same context, a study commissioned by the US Congress recommended delaying the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan by next May, and warned that this would mean the victory of the Taliban movement.
The "Afghanistan Study Group", co-chaired by former US General Joseph Dunford, said:
The goal should not be to seek an end to America's longest war, but to secure an "acceptable peace agreement" between the Taliban and the internationally recognized government.
"The irresponsible withdrawal of US forces is likely to lead to a new civil war in Afghanistan, and lead to the re-formation of anti-American terrorist groups that could threaten our homeland, and give it a narrative of victory over the most powerful country in the world," the report said.
He added, "Supporting peace negotiations gives the United States an opportunity to honor American sacrifices and secure basic American interests, and to show the enemies of this nation that they cannot win."
Congress requested the study to be conducted in December 2019, as former President Donald Trump seeks to end the US military presence in Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan Study Group is made up of 15 bipartisan members, and is chaired in addition to Danford, former Republican Senator Kelly Ayoti, and former USAID official Nancy Lindburg.