Taliban attacks ‘still too high’ in wake of peace deal, CENTCOM chief says

The number of attacks being carried out across Afghanistan by the Taliban are “still too high” in the wake of a newly signed peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban, the head of U.S. military operations in the Middle East said Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, explained that Taliban-led attacks are not taking place in cities or against U.S. or allied forces but rather at checkpoints and isolated locations.

“The level of attacks in my judgment is not consistent with a group that wants to pursue and be a fair and faithful partner, going forward,” he said. “So those attacks are too high.”

Earlier this week, the four-star general told a Senate panel he has “no confidence” in the Taliban’s willingness to pursue a peace process with the U.S.-backed Afghan government in Kabul amid ongoing tensions between the two sides and a simmering political crisis.

But the Afghan government will begin to respond if the attacks continue, he said Friday, adding that the government has been “remarkably restrained” in its response.

“I’ve seen what the Afghans have said, if [the Taliban] don’t knock them off here in another two or three days, they’re going to begin to respond,” said Gen. McKenzie.

The general’s comments come as the U.S. begins to withdraw troops from Afghanistan as part of the landmark peace deal that was signed just two weeks prior.

The Pentagon is expected to pull out a third of its 13,000 combat troops in Afghanistan by mid-summer, but the removal of the remainder of the force remains in question as violence continues.

“We have an aspiration to go to zero level in Afghanistan,” Gen. McKenzie said, “but that is very clearly going to be conditions driven, we’ll have an opportunity to take a look at conditions as we go forward.”