Esper’s visit to Afghanistan aims to help Trump with 2020 election: Analyst

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s visit to Afghanistan aims to help President Donald Trump with the 2020 presidential election and also minimize the influence of the Taliban on the Afghan government, says political analyst Keith Preston.

Esper arrived in Kabul on Sunday to determine Washington’s "next steps" amid stalled peace talks with the Taliban militant group and escalating violence in the country.

He was greeted by his Afghan counterpart Assadullah Khalid on his first visit to the country since being confirmed as US Defense Secretary in July.

"I'm looking ... to get a really good feel for what's happening on the ground in Afghanistan, and to talk what the way ahead may look like as well," Esper told reporters traveling with him.

"We think a political agreement is always the best way forward with regard to next steps in Afghanistan," he added.

Speaking to Press TV on Sunday, Preston said that the Pentagon chief’s visit “is motivated by several factors.”

“One of them is the fact that The Trump administration appears to want to reduce the number of troops that are currently in Afghanistan, the number of American troops and that is probably connected to the fact that the election is coming up next year and one of Donald Trump’s campaign promises was to wind down the wars in Afghanistan and places like that, so he wants to make it look like he’s making good on those campaign promises.”

“The Americans are concerned about the return of the Taliban, I think they want the existing government in Afghanistan which is really just an American puppet government, I think they want that government to survive,” he added.

“Mark Esper is looking for some way to essentially facilitate the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan while maintaining the US-backed government and minimizing the influence of the Taliban in any future government.”

The US currently has more than 14,000 forces in Afghanistan. Trump promised last year to cut the number by at least 5,000.

PressTV-Taliban declare war as Trump calls Afghan talks dead

The Taliban say armed conflict is now the only way to end occupation of Afghanistan after Trump said peace talks between Washington and the militants were "dead."

Esper said that Washington could push ahead with the troops withdrawal without hurting on its alleged fight against al-Qaeda and Daesh terrorists in the country. However, he said any withdrawal should take place as part of a peace agreement with the Taliban.

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