PARIS: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said the status quo was not an option for the US in Afghanistan, as it prepares to withdraw troops by September despite a rise in attacks. “We are seeing elevated attacks on the Afghan security forces in certain parts of the country compared to a year ago,” Blinken said on a visit to Paris, acknowledging the US had to look “very hard” to see if the Taliban was serious about peace. But he added: “Had we not begun the process of drawing down. . . the status quo would not have helped. . . The status quo was not an option.
