“The Taliban’s repeated refusal to join talks with the Afghan government contributed to the US decision to take action against Mullah Mansour on May 21,” Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson told a Washington audience.
“Some commentators have speculated that this strike represented a shift in US strategy or a weakening of our commitment to a peace process. It has not,” Olson said in his remarks to the Atlantic Council, a top American think-tank.
US President Barack Obama, he said, made clear in his public statements that the removal of Mansour and the expanded US authorities do not represent a strategic shift in our approach to Afghanistan.
“The US is not resuming day-to-day combat operations in Afghanistan. The Afghan National Defence and Security Forces have full responsibility, as they should, for providing security in their country,” he said.