Washington [US], November 18 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered the Pentagon to pull 2,500 US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq by mid-January, acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller announced Tuesday.
The Defense Department will cut the number of troops in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 and the number of forces in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500 by January 15, days before Trump is set to leave the office, The Hill reported.
“I am formally announcing that we will implement President Trump’s orders to continue our repositioning of forces” from Afghanistan and Iraq, Miller told reporters at the Pentagon.
Miller also said that Trump’s decision “is based on continuous engagement with his national security cabinet for the past several months, including ongoing discussions with me and my colleagues across the United States government.”
He added that he spoke with “key leaders in Congress as well as our allies and partners abroad to update them on these plans” earlier in the day.
In February, the Trump administration and Taliban had signed an agreement that calls for a full US withdrawal from Afghanistan if the terror group upholds counterterrorism commitments such as denying safe haven to al Qaeda.
Since the deal was signed, the Taliban has stepped up attacks against Afghan forces, which US officials have repeatedly condemned as threatening the peace process.
The withdrawn order comes only a week after Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper and replaced him with Miller. (ANI)
NATO chief warns of ‘heavy price’ if US troops leave Afghanistan
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday said that the military organisation could pay a heavy price for leaving Afghanistan too early, after US President Donald Trump’s administration’s plan to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, Tolo News reported.
“Afghanistan risks becoming once again a platform for international terrorists to plan and organize attacks on our homelands. And ISIS (Daesh) could rebuild in Afghanistan the terror caliphate it lost in Syria and Iraq,” Stoltenberg said in a statement.
“NATO Allies support the peace process in Afghanistan. As part of this process, we have already significantly adjusted our presence,” he added.
Stoltenberg said that he has repeatedly stressed that they will continue to review their troop levels in Afghanistan.
“We now have under 12,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, and more than half of these are non-US forces.”
The NATO mentioned that even with further US reductions, the organisation will continue its mission to train, advise, and assist the Afghan security forces. “We are also committed to funding them through 2024.”
“We went into Afghanistan together. And when the time is right, we should leave together in a coordinated and orderly way. I count on all NATO allies to live up to this commitment, for our own security,” Stoltenberg said.
Last month, US President Donald Trump said in a Twitter post that he wanted all 4,500 US troops in Afghanistan home by Christmas, but top military and national security aides advised against such a precipitous withdrawal, Tolo News further reported.
The reports come as violence has significantly increased in the country despite peace efforts.
Meanwhile, the peace negotiations in Doha have stalled over differences on ground rules for the talks. (ANI)
