[ad_1]
Trump orders the withdrawal of troops; shortly thereafter, the rockets land near the US embassy.
| Reading time: 4 minutes
Blackhawk helicopter at the US military base Salman Pak in southern Baghdad – Military device shipped back to US.
Source: AFP / ALI YOUSSEF
Two rockets landed near the US embassy in Baghdad. Shortly before, Donald Trump had created facts and had withdrawn more troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
secondA child was killed Tuesday night in rocket attacks on the so-called Green Zone in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. At least five people were injured, according to Iraqi security forces.
A total of four Katyusha missiles hit the area in which the government high-security district and embassies of the United States and other countries are located. Authorities did not initially provide any information on the age of the murdered child.
The rockets were fired from the southeast of the capital. At first no one confessed it to him. There have been repeated rocket attacks near the Green Zone and at the airport in recent months. Most of the local militias are behind this, some of which have the support of neighboring Iran. The attacks were also directed against Iraqi military bases used by US troops. Shiite militias allied with Iran demand the withdrawal of US soldiers.
Recently, the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, ordered the withdrawal of more American troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. By January 15, the number of soldiers will be reduced to about 2,500 each, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said at the Pentagon on Tuesday. The partial withdrawal would be implemented immediately before the inauguration of the elected president of the United States, Joe Biden. The swearing-in is scheduled for January 20.
The Defense Department did not provide information on how many US soldiers are currently stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the US broadcaster CNN, there are currently 4,500 US troops in Afghanistan and 3,000 in Iraq. Miller said the United States is entering a new phase in the fight against international terrorism. The announcement had been expected since several US media reported Monday on the preparations.
The partial deduction follows Trump’s electoral loss to Biden. Shortly after, the incumbent president removed Defense Secretary Mark Esper, which in turn led to the replacement of high-ranking positions in the Pentagon with Trump supporters. Former Army Officer Douglas Macgregor was appointed Senior Advisor to Executive Minister Miller. Macgregor is known as a critic of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The United States signed an agreement with the Islamist Taliban militants in late February that promises the gradual withdrawal of all US and NATO forces by the end of April 2021. The Taliban pledged to enter into peace talks with the Kabul government, that started in September. However, the process was stalled in the dispute over procedural issues.
It was Trump’s campaign promise
Trump had already promised to bring troops home in the 2016 election campaign. In particular, he lobbied for a withdrawal from Afghanistan. According to US media reports, he has recently become increasingly frustrated with the pace of the withdrawal.
In early August, the United States informed its NATO allies that it wanted to reduce its troops from around 12,000 to less than 5,000 by the end of November. In mid-September, Trump announced that the strength of the troops should be quickly reduced to less than 4,000. Almost four weeks before the US elections in early November, Trump even announced on Twitter that the soldiers should be back in the United States by Christmas.
The war in Afghanistan is the longest in American history. US soldiers have been in the country since 2001. After the September 11 attacks of that year, US-led troops marched there. It is not yet clear what effect the recent US cuts could have on the Bundeswehr’s engagement. Currently, around 1,000 soldiers are stationed in northern Afghanistan. The current Bundestag mandate provides for the use of up to 1,300.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed on Monday that the alliance will continue to train, advise and support Afghan security forces. At the same time, if the United States fully withdraws, NATO would have to end its operation because the other allies are militarily incapable of continuing it alone.
The Bundestag only extended the deployment of German soldiers in Iraq for another 15 months at the end of October. By doing so, Germany is contributing to the fight of an international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia. A maximum of 500 soldiers can be deployed.
[ad_2]
