The U.S. President Donald Trump will quickly reduce the number of his forces in Afghanistan from nearly 4,500 to 2,500 in mid-January, before leaving his office, the Pentagon has announced.
President Trump’s Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said at the Pentagon on Tuesday that about 2,000 troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by January 15 and 500 more would come back home from Iraq, leaving 2,500 in each country.
“This is consistent with our established plans and strategic objectives, supported by the American people, and does not equate to a change in U.S. policy or objectives,” said Mr. Miller who was announced the new chief of the Pentagon, replacing Mark Esper.
Trump’s former Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, had sent a classified memo to the White House, voicing concerns about accelerating the troop drawdown in Afghanistan.
Conditions on the ground were not yet right, Mr. Esper is said to have written in the reminder.
His letter was believed to be one of the reasons he was fired by President Trump.
NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, has meanwhile warned of “high price” for a premature pullout of the U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan.
“We now face a difficult decision. We have been in Afghanistan for almost 20 years, and no NATO ally wants to stay any longer than necessary. But at the same time, the price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high,” SG Stoltenberg said in a statement.
The news of troops pullout has been hitting headlines as the country gripped with decades-long war is still witnessing high levels of violence amid peace efforts negotiators from the government and the Taliban are putting in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Follow TKG on Twitter & Facebook
