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The Pentagon has announced that it will reduce troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to the lowest levels since the first days of the wars in the two countries, in a withdrawal that would end just before Joe Biden is sworn in as president of the United States.
The reduction, announced by Donald Trump’s newly installed acting defense secretary, was ordered by the outgoing president despite opposition from some defense officials, who argued that instability in Afghanistan made such a withdrawal unwise.
The Trump administration had already reduced US troop levels in Afghanistan from 14,000 last year to 4,500, in response to Trump’s promise to end the “endless wars” of his predecessors. The new measure would reduce force levels to 2,500 in both Iraq and Afghanistan; about 3,000 US soldiers are in Iraq.
Although Trump has long advocated troop withdrawals from the region, the form and timing of the order have caused consternation in Washington foreign policy circles.
Two people briefed on the discussions told the Financial Times that the White House could also order the withdrawal of troops from Somalia. A defense official said an announcement was possible at the end of the week.
The reduction in Iraq and Afghanistan will be completed on January 15, just five days before Biden’s inauguration. It was announced by Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, who replaced Mark Esper last week in a Pentagon shakeup that resulted in the installation of several Trump loyalists into influential high-level positions.
Miller, a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, welcomed the decision and paid tribute to Trump’s “bold leadership”, saying the United States wanted to end “this generational war.”
Robert O’Brien, Trump’s national security adviser, said the president expected all remaining troops to be home in May, when Biden takes office.
The United States sent troops to Afghanistan in 2003 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The number of soldiers surpassed 100,000 after former President Barack Obama ordered a “surge”, which was opposed by Biden, then Vice President. from the United States.
Biden has also vowed to end what he has called America’s “never-ending” wars, though he is expected to support a slower rate of reduction when he takes office in January.
Miller said he had spoken with key leaders in Congress, as well as allies and partners abroad about the decision on Monday. But some high-ranking Republicans and allies also opposed the measure, arguing that conditions did not yet allow it.
Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House of Representatives armed services committee, criticized the order as a “mistake,” arguing that the cuts would undermine US peace talks with the Taliban.
However, the top Democrat on that House committee supported Trump’s decision.
“After speaking with the acting secretary this morning, I believe that reducing our footprint deployed in Afghanistan to 2,500 soldiers is the correct political decision,” said Adam Smith, Democratic chairman of the House armed services committee, arguing that it depends on the Afghans. . to find a sustainable path to peace.
But it must be executed “with responsibility and care,” he added.
Minutes after the announcement of the troop reduction, four rockets hit the Green Zone of Baghdad, the safe enclave in the Iraqi capital that houses the US embassy. The Iraqi army said three more had fallen in the surrounding areas, killing one girl and wounding five more people.
The Iraqi authorities have struggled to stop the attacks on the Green Zone. The rocket rain broke a roughly month-long lull in hostilities by Shiite militia groups, which have deep ties to Iran and want US troops to leave Iraq.
The Taliban had agreed to stop attacking US troops and harbor al Qaeda as part of a deal in February to ensure the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. The extremist group also agreed to an end to the war with their counterparts in the Kabul government. Those conversations have just started, months late.
“[The] The Taliban have done nothing, they did not meet any conditions, to justify this cut, “Thornberry said in a statement.
A Western diplomat in Washington said the timetable appeared to be dictated by politics rather than reality on the ground.
“Any reduction that is not driven by conditions on the ground will undermine the confidence of the allies,” the diplomat said.
Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, who still has non-US coalition forces in Afghanistan and a training mission in Iraq, warned against too quick a withdrawal from Afghanistan in particular.
“We have been in Afghanistan for almost 20 years and no NATO ally wants to stay longer than necessary,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “But at the same time, the price for leaving too early or in an uncoordinated way could be very high.”
Later on Tuesday, Trump appointed Scott O’Grady, a former fighter pilot who was shot down in Bosnia, as undersecretary of defense, focused on international security issues.
Additional reporting from Michael Peel in Brussels and Chloe Cornish in Beirut
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