; (2) the United States Government should urge all regional actors to play a constructive role in supporting peace and stability in Afghanistan and the South Asia region, including by— (A) refraining from supporting proxy forces in Afghanistan; and (B) exercising their influence on the Afghan Taliban to renounce violence, break ties with international terrorism, and enter into talks with representatives of the Government of Afghanistan without preconditions; (3) the United States Government should bring all the tools at its disposal to bear in seeking a political settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan, including the diplomatic and development expertise at the Department of State and United States Agency for International Development; (4) the United States Government should increase its bilateral and multilateral engagement by Cabinet members and other high-level officials in support of a negotiated political settlement, including by continuing to support engagement in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group and other formats for dialogue among regional powers to promote a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan; (5) the United States Government should stipulate clear conditions for the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, including guarantees that Afghan territory will not be used to stage attacks on the United States; (6) combat operations, including offensive actions and combat-enabling support to operations such as close air support, are inherently government functions that cannot be appropriately carried out by private contractors; (7) the United States Government— (A) should not deploy private contractors to undertake combat operations in Afghanistan or embed with the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces; and (B) should respect the sovereignty of the democratically elected Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan over Afghan territory; (8) the United States Government should support democratic, accountable, and inclusive governance in Afghanistan