Our troops not to be posted much longer in Afghanistan: US

The Pentagon on Tuesday reiterated that the US military presence in Afghanistan will not continue indefinitely, while stressing that American troops remain there to prevent the country from becoming a base for attacks against the US.

“We are there in order to ensure that America's security — and just think back to 9/11 and this building — that America's security is not threatened out of that location again,” Defence Secretary James Mattis said during an unusual press conference at the Pentagon, Efe news reported.

Mattis was joined by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, who also said that the current deployment in Afghanistan should not be viewed as a permanent large-scale military commitment.

“I certainly don't expect that the current forces that we have in Afghanistan represent an enduring large military commitment,” Dunford said.

However, he added that the US would maintain a long-term commitment to Afghanistan through a permanent diplomatic presence.

Mattis said he had understood when the US administration reviewed its regional strategy in August 2017 that achieving its objectives would take time.

US President Donald Trump had earlier this year expressed his intention to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan.

Mattis also pointed to two recent ceasefires between the Taliban and the Afghan government as a positive development and said he remained hopeful of a political solution to the conflict.

He said the withdrawal of US forces from countries such as Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq would ultimately depend on meeting certain conditions. These included defeating the Islamic State and ensuring that local security forces were adequately trained.

In Syria, Mattis said an additional condition was that the Geneva peace process should begin showing positive results.