U.S. Reacts to ‘Open Letter’ of Afghan Taliban to Trump

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday reacted to “open letter” of the Afghan Taliban to President Donald Trump, as the group reiterates call for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

In a news briefing, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert confirmed receiving Taliban’s open letter to U.S. President Trump.

“Yeah. I certainly have. So I’m not going to comment on any statements put out by the Taliban on that. Let’s not lose focus here, that the – what I’ll – I’ll say this about another country: destabilizing activities,” Nauert told reporters.

“Afghanistan is a result of the Taliban. We’ve seen, and there was a report out not that long ago, about the increase in attacks on civilians, which largely included women and children,” she said.

She added: “Let’s not lose focus that the Taliban is behind many of those attacks, many of the increase in civilian casualties. That undermines the Afghan population and also the Afghan Government as well, so let’s not lose focus of that.”

The State Department Spokesman further added that U.S. government is considering its reviews on Afghan policy. “They will be considering a lot of different options and would never rule out any – absolutely everything,” she concluded.