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US: No Start Date Yet for Temporary Afghan Truce

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD / MUNICH - U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Saturday
   that consultations were still underway on setting a start date for a
   seven-day trial of reduced violence negotiated with the Taliban in
   Afghanistan.

   "That is a moving date because we are still doing consultations, if you
   will, ... so I can't give you a hard date right now," Esper told
   reporters in Munich, Germany, after attending a security conference
   there.

   U.S. officials have said a successful implementation of the temporary
   reduction in violence would pave the way for a comprehensive peace deal
   with the insurgent group that could end America's longest war and bring
   home about 13,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

   "Where we are right now is on the doorstep of a reduction-of-violence
   period. If we decide to move forward, if all sides hold up -- meet
   their obligations under that reduction in violence--then we'll start
   talking about the next part, whether to move forward [with the
   comprehensive peace agreement]," Esper said.

   As part of the short-term agreement, he added, the United States will
   suspend "a significant part of our operations," though the Pentagon
   chief declined to discuss details.

   U.S. officials say the deal binds the Taliban to halt major attacks,
   including roadside and suicide bombings, against Afghan and
   U.S.-ledinternational forces anywhere in the country.

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