The Taliban is asking President Donald Trump to remove all U.S. troops from Afghanistan – and is hinting at a willingness to work with Washington, Stars and Stripes reported Sunday.
In a statement on its website, the insurgency group called on Trump to “put an end to the invasion," and asked him to “help countries with their development” rather than with “bloodshed and destruction," the military news outlet reported.
The Taliban have been seeking to regain control of Afghanistan since they were ousted after the U.S.-led NATO invasion in 2001.
The statement said responsibility for finding a solution to the conflict between the Taliban and Afghanistan's government now falls to Trump.
"You have spent more than a trillion dollars here, but you haven’t achieved anything other rather than killing innocent Afghans and destroying their orchards and villages," the message said, Stars and Stripes reported.
One of the key issues the president faces is whether to keep, increase or decrease the current U.S. troop level of 8,400 – and the Taliban is asking Trump to go low, the outlet reported.
"This issue can’t be solved by increasing the number of soldiers," the message said, Stars and Stripes reported. "It wasn’t solved that way in the past."
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