Pentagon Chief Assures Afghanistan of U.S. Support

Meeting officials frustrated by exclusion from Taliban talks, acting secretary affirms security commitment

Craig Nelson in Dubai and

Ehsanullah Amiri in Kabul

Updated Feb. 11, 2019 3:53 p.m. ET

The Pentagon’s top official assured Afghanistan’s government on Monday that the U.S. wouldn’t desert the country’s security forces, the Afghan Defense Ministry said, signaling American support for the jittery government while the U.S. holds talks with the Taliban to end the country’s 17-year war.

In his first overseas trip as acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan met senior U.S. military officers and top Afghan officials, including President Ashraf Ghani, whose government has been excluded from the latest effort to negotiate...