KABUL (SW) – President Ashraf Ghani has sent a letter to U.S President Donal Trump offering him reduced costs for keeping American troops in the country.
According to the New York Times, the letter, confirmed by three officials and described by one who had seen its contents, is among the strongest signs yet that President Ghani is worried about the consequences of an abrupt American withdrawal from an intractable war that has lasted nearly two decades.
Mr. Ghani has made no secret of his concern about a hasty American exit by an increasingly impatient Mr. Trump, fearing it could unravel the fragile Afghan state and lead to a renaissance in power by the Taliban, which have been steadily gaining territory, the NYT reported.
According to the report the language of the Afghan President’s letter was broad — asking for teams from both sides to discuss details of where costs could be reduced, and how the troop levels could be brought down from the current 14,000 to a “more efficient level.” The official said the possibilities they had envisioned could save as much as $2 billion a year for the United States, drawing from areas such as maintenance contracts, and reduce the level of American troops to as low as 3,000.
It was not immediately clear on Tuesday whether Mr. Trump had received the letter yet. It was sent to him via Alice Wells, the principal deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, who had been visiting Kabul. A spokesman for Mr. Ghani also declined to discuss the letter.
ENDS
