US Gen McKenzie has ‘grave doubts’ about Taliban’s reliability

Foreign troop withdrawals have raised concerns that Afghanistan could become a fractured state, erupt in civil war

A top US general said on Tuesday that he had grave doubts about the Taliban’s reliability as a negotiating partner, as the United States is set to remove all its troops from Afghanistan in the coming months and focus on diplomacy. Last week President Joe Biden said all US troops would be withdrawn by September 11, to end the US’s longest war, rejecting calls for US forces to stay to ensure a peaceful resolution to Afghanistan’s grinding internal conflict. Under former President Donald Trump, the Taliban negotiated an agreement with the US, in negotiations that did not include the Afghan government, for the withdrawal of US forces in exchange for security guarantees. Some US officials have said the Taliban have not fulfilled their part of the deal.