Taliban Violence at ‘High Levels’ Can Hurt US-Taliban Peace Deal

“The United States and Taliban agreed to a one week reduction in violence prior to the signing of the agreement, but Taliban violence during the quarter [January 1-March 31, 2020] overall was high… while the Taliban reduced attacks against U.S. and coalition forces, it continued to attack the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, particularly after the signing of the agreement,” said acting Pentagon Inspector General Sean O’Donnell. He also said the violence escalated after the peace agreement was signed.
The Trump administration signed a deal with the Taliban that would allow the U.S. to reduce its forces in Afghanistan from 13,000 to 8,600 and withdraw completely within 14 months if several requirements for the Taliban, such as attacking U.S. and its allied forces, are met. U.S. officials said the Taliban must reduce violence as a necessary condition and that remaining high levels of violence could jeopardize the U.S.-Taliban agreement.