Austin Scott Miller, senior US general in Afghanistan, resigns as US military withdrawal from country draws to a close

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General Austin Scott Miller will hand over his command authorities to General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of the US Central Command, at a ceremony in Kabul, according to a US defense official with first-hand knowledge of the plans.

His transition of command authorities was expected and is a key step in the United States’ military withdrawal from Afghanistan, and comes days after President Joe Biden said the full withdrawal of forces would be completed by the end. August.

Miller, who was the longest-serving U.S. commander in the U.S.’s nearly two decades of military engagement in Afghanistan, has repeatedly expressed concern about the pace of the Taliban’s territorial gains and the potential for civil war in the country after the US military campaign is over.

The Biden administration is also starting to work with other countries to determine what the Taliban will get if they engage in a political process in Afghanistan, and what cost they will pay if they do not, said Monday. at CNN a senior administration official.

The effort is part of a new chapter in US diplomatic engagement in Afghanistan, as Biden decided to withdraw all US troops from the country. The United States hopes to encourage other countries to invest in the country’s political future.

U.S. Special Representative for Reconciliation in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad will lead the effort and has scheduled meetings with other countries in the coming weeks to discuss the issue, the State Department said over the weekend. end.

“During his trip, Ambassador Khalilzad will continue to engage in determined diplomacy and seek a peace agreement between the Islamic Republic and the Taliban. As part of the United States’ continued support for the peace process, it will work with all parties and with regional and international stakeholders to advance consensus on a political settlement, ”the State Department said. “Political accommodation on the part of all parties remains urgent.”

Khalilzad will visit Qatar, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, according to the announcement. He will also meet with officials from Russia, China and European countries, the senior administration official said.

Biden has asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Khalilzad to “overload” US diplomacy with Afghanistan, State Department spokesman Ned Price said last week.

The State Department remains in direct contact with the Taliban and has not detailed what, if anything, would prompt them to end this dialogue.

Biden admitted last week that the Taliban were now at their strongest since 2001, but added that he trusted “the capacity of the Afghan army, which is better trained, better equipped” than the Taliban.

“They have the capacity. They have the forces. They have the equipment. The question is, will they do it?” Biden said of the Afghan government.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Chandelis Duster contributed to this report.

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