Afghanistan, Feb. 15 -- The Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan has said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) continues in its critical in developing the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

Speaking to reports at the end of a two-day NATO defense ministerial in Brussels on Thursday, Shanahan said "NATO is coordinated and aligned. We are together. We are helping to ensure a diplomatic settlement, with Ambassador Khalilzad in the lead."

In regards to the ongoing peace efforts, the Acting Secretary of Defense said "No outcome is predetermined, but as President Trump said in the State of the Union, after two decades of war, the hour has come to try for peace."

"Visiting both Afghanistan and Iraq, I was inspi...