[4] The deal, which also had secret annexes, was one of the critical events that caused the collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).

[5] Adhering to the conditions of the deal, the US dramatically reduced the number of US air raids, leaving the ANDSF without a key advantage in keeping the Taliban at bay.

This resulted in "a sense of abandonment within the ANDSF and the Afghan population" according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).

The US agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to 8,600 within 135 days (i.e. by July 2020), followed by a full withdrawal within 14 months (i.e. by 1 May 2021) if the Taliban kept its commitments.

The United States also committed to closing five military bases within 135 days, and expressed its intent to end economic sanctions on the Taliban by August 27, 2020.

Critics of the deal claimed that the then Trump administration appeased the Taliban and ignored the then Afghan government for a quick withdrawal from Afghanistan.

[15] The United States agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to 8,600 by July 2020, followed by a full withdrawal within 14 months if the Taliban kept its commitments.

[17] The United States also committed to closing five military bases within 135 days,[14] and expressed its intent to end economic sanctions on the Taliban by August 27, 2020.

[33][34][35] Following the arrival of the Taliban delegation, a senior Afghan government official told Reuters "the prisoner release might go ahead in a few days if everything goes as planned.

"[32] On March 31, 2020, the UN Security Council urged all warring parties to declare a ceasefire in order for the peace process to progress further.

[45] Ghani stated that he did not have the constitutional authority to release these prisoners, so he convened a loya jirga from August 7 to 9 to discuss the issue.

The Taliban resumed offensive operations against the Afghan army and police on March 3, 2020, conducting attacks in Kunduz and Helmand provinces.

[50] However, in the aftermath of the agreement, the US stopped supporting the Afghan military in its offensive operations, forcing it to take mostly defensive positions around the country.

[citation needed] The agreement also exacerbated the decline in morale of the Afghan army and police, making them more open to accepting bargains with the Taliban.

[51] In the 45 days after the agreement (between March 1 and April 15, 2020), the Taliban conducted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, an increase of more than 70% compared to the same period in the previous year.

The Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said that although the Taliban stopped conducting attacks against the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, the violence was still "unacceptably high" and "not conducive to a diplomatic solution."

"[52] On June 22, 2020, Afghanistan reported its "bloodiest week in 19 years", during which 291 members of the ANDSF were killed and 550 others wounded in 422 attacks carried out by the Taliban.

In response to accusations of unauthorized drone flights, the Pentagon defended its "over-the-horizon" strategy as effective for monitoring threats in Afghanistan.

The Trump administration agreed to an initial reduction of US troops in Afghanistan from 13,000 to 8,600 within 135 days (i.e., by July 2020), followed by a full withdrawal within 14 months (i.e., by 1 May 2021), if the Taliban kept its commitments.