Afghan Taliban write open letter to Donald Trump, urges US to leave Afghanistan

In a surprise development, the Afghan Taliban on Tuesday released an "open letter" to US President Donald Trump, reiterating their call for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan after 16 years of war and review the American strategy in Afghanistan. 

The 1,600-word letter, written in rather incoherent English, was sent to journalists by Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman. The Taliban said Trump has recognized the errors of his predecessors by seeking a review of the US Afghanistan policy.

The Taliban also asked Trump to hold peaceful dialogue directly with Afghans instead of "corrupt" politicians.

Mujahid said Trump should not hand control of the US Afghan policy to the military but rather announce the withdrawal of US forces - and not an increase in troops as the administration has planned.

The letter urged the United States to interact with Afghans "generously" instead of imposing war.

"It seems to be a historical mistake on the part of the previous administrations to have dispatched American youth for the slaughter of Afghans. However, as a responsible American president, you need to study the mistakes of your predecessors and prevent death and injury to American forces in Afghanistan," the letter said.

"American youth are not born to be killed in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan in order to establish the writ of thieves and corrupt officials and neither would their parents approve of them killing civilians in Afghanistan," the letter further said.

"A number of warmongering congressmen and generals in Afghanistan are pressing you to protract the war in Afghanistan because they seek to preserve their military privileges, but instead you must act responsibly as the fate of many Americans and Afghans alike is tied to this issue."

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has on Monday said all options for Afghanistan remained on the table, and a full withdrawal of troops is one of them. Trump is yet to announce a strategy for Afghanistan, but Mattis said one is "very, very close".

If the war can't be won with "professional US and NATO troops ... you shall never be able to win it with mercenaries, notorious contractor firms, and immoral stooges", the letter said.

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