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WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – President Donald Trump will dramatically reduce the number of US forces in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500 by mid-January, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday (November 17), without reaching a full withdrawal from the longest war in United States.
Trump’s decision to limit himself to a partial withdrawal was first reported by Reuters on Monday and prompted a reprimand from senior Republicans who fear it will undermine security and damage fragile peace talks with the Taliban.
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, whom Trump installed last week after abruptly firing Mark Esper, confirmed the Afghan downsizing and also described a modest withdrawal of forces from Iraq that will reduce troop levels there from 3,000 to 2,500.
“By January 15, 2021, our forces, of their size in Afghanistan, will be 2,500 soldiers. The size of our force in Iraq will also be 2,500 by that same date, “Miller told reporters.
“This is consistent with our stated strategic plans and objectives, supported by the American people, and does not amount to a change in US policy or objectives.”
Moments later, the top Senate Republican, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, warned against any major changes in US foreign or defense policy in the coming months, including any abrupt troop reductions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“It is extremely important here, in the coming months, not to have any momentous changes regarding defense or foreign policy,” McConnell told reporters.
Trump will leave office on January 20 after losing this month’s presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.
He has launched legal challenges for counting votes in some swing states that he claimed were fraudulent, but legal experts give him little chance of success.
The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry, also criticized the troop cut as a “mistake.”
“Further reductions in Afghanistan will also undermine negotiations there; the Taliban have done nothing, they did not fulfill any conditions, that would justify this cut, “said Thornberry.
US and Afghan officials warn of troubling levels of violence by Taliban insurgents and the Taliban’s persistent ties to Al-Qaeda.
It was these links that triggered US military intervention in 2001 following the Al-Qaeda attacks on September 11 in the United States. Thousands of US and allied soldiers have died in fighting in Afghanistan.
Some US military officials had been urging Trump to keep US troop levels at around 4,500 for now. But the withdrawal falls short of his promise on October 7, when Trump said on Twitter: “We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan by Christmas!”
Rick Olson, a former US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said the remaining 2,500 soldiers still give the US some leverage to advance the peace process, but “it would have been better to leave them at 4,500.”
“Zero would have been really terrible, while 2,500 is fine, but it’s probably not very stable,” he said.
“I would say 2,500 are probably stable as long as the peace between the United States and the Taliban is maintained. But that may not happen because the Taliban have not reduced violence, as they promised to do.
Ronald Neumann, a former US ambassador to Kabul, warned that “if we withdraw faster than the withdrawal schedule, there is no incentive for the Taliban to negotiate.”
The retirements could pose a new set of challenges for Biden when he takes office on January 20.
Taliban militants, fighting the US-backed government in Kabul, have called on the US to adhere to a February agreement with the Trump administration to withdraw US troops in May, subject to certain security guarantees.
Violence has escalated across Afghanistan, with the Taliban attacking provincial capitals, in some cases sparking American airstrikes.
In Iraq, four rockets hit the Green Zone in Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi military statement said.
The fortified area houses government buildings and foreign missions.
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