Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits Afghanistan as troop withdrawal deadline looms
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Sunday as a May 1 deadline looms for the possible withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the country. The deadline was part of last year's peace agreement with the Taliban.
President Joe Biden has not yet decided whether to pull out the 2,500 U.S. troops and is considering whether they should remain in Afghanistan for another six months, according to a U.S. official.
In his first visit to Afghanistan as defense secretary, Austin met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and with Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
Austin's visit was carried out under tight security restrictions and reporters accompanying Austin were asked not to report the visit until after he had left the country.
The visit comes as Biden has to decide soon whether all American troops will leave Afghanistan as laid out in the peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.
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