WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – The American ambassador to Afghanistan is leaving his post after two years in Kabul the State Department has announced, without giving any reasons.
The departure of the ambassador, John R. Bass, comes as the United States is again trying to negotiate a tentative agreement with the Taliban that could withdraw American forces from Afghanistan in exchange for reduced violence.
The State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it was typical for ambassadors to serve only two years in Kabul, the Afghan capital, given the high-stress nature of the job. He claimed Bass was not being removed from his assignment because of any disagreement with the administration, and that his departure had in fact been long planned.
The Trump administration has been negotiating with the Taliban for most of the last year in hopes of winding down a war that began with an American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The two sides were close to striking a preliminary deal last September, but President Trump called off the talks after a car bomb attack in Kabul killed an American soldier and 11 others. But in an unannounced visit to Afghanistan over Thanksgiving, the president said the diplomatic effort was back on track, and called for an ambitious cease-fire that has long been demanded by the government in Kabul, if spurned by the Taliban.
The Taliban group refuses to negotiate with the Kabul government, which it regards as being illegitimate and a U.S. puppet.
So far, there has been no immediate response from Washington regarding the temporary truce with the Taliban. A ceasefire had been demanded by Washington before any agreement could be signed.
The Taliban has been demanding that all foreign forces — U.S. troops included — leave Afghanistan and end the invasion of the country, which began in 2001 under the pretext of fighting terrorism.
Even as the Taliban are engaged in talks about ceasing hostilities, the militant group has kept up it attacks across Afghanistan.