US diplomat says unilateral troop reduction discouraged Taliban from agreeing to political settlement

Molly Phee, an American diplomat and former deputy to Zalmay Khalilzad during the Doha talks, has said that the US’s unilateral decision to reduce its military presence in Afghanistan played a critical role in discouraging the Taliban from agreeing to a political settlement with other Afghans.

According to Politico, which revealed details of a behind-closed-doors House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing held in the summer of 2022, Molly Phee said: “It is my judgment that the unilateral decision to reduce troops to 4,500 without explicitly tying this move to a requirement for the Taliban to act significantly weakened the prospect for successful intra-Afghan negotiations as the Taliban appeared to conclude that President Trump was intent on withdrawal regardless of their conduct.”