US troops in Afghanistan: Pentagon confirms US troop withdrawal
The US is to cut its number of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq by 2,500, the US Department of Defense has confirmed.
President Donald Trump had previously warned that he would be cutting the size of US forces in the two countries.
The cut will take place before President Trump leaves office, the Pentagon said.
The Secretary-General of the Nato alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, has warned of a “high price” if US and allied forces leave Afghanistan too quickly.
In a statement, he said the country risked once again becoming a platform for international terrorists to organise attacks.
The number of troops in Iraq will be cut by 500 to 2,500, while the number of service personnel in Afghanistan will fall from 4,500 to about 2,500.
Acting US Defense Secretary Chris Miller said the move reflected Mr Trump’s policy “to bring the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to a successful and responsible conclusion and to bring our brave service members home”.
Shortly after the announcement, several rockets were fired into the Green Zone in Baghdad and landed near the US embassy. It is the first such attack since Iraqi militias linked to Iran agreed to stop targeting the embassy compound last month. There are no reports of casualties or any damage.
What has been said about US troop withdrawals?
US media had reported that President Trump may speed up troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq before he is due to leave office. He has not yet admitted that he lost the presidential election on 3 November.
Mr Trump had previously said he wanted “all” troops home by Christmas.
On Tuesday, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said it was Mr Trump’s hope that “all US troops will be home from Afghanistan and Iraq by May”.
Mr Trump has criticised US military interventions abroad as costly and ineffective.
But Nato head Mr Stoltenberg said on Tuesday: “The price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high.”
Nato has been training and advising Afghan security forces since 2014. It has gradually been reducing its number of troops.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference also attended by Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani and US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper at the presidential palace in Kabul on February 29, 2020.
IMAGE COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES
image captionJens Stoltenberg has warned a sudden withdrawal could make Afghanistan a platform for terrorism
Mr Stoltenberg warned that the Islamic State group could use Afghanistan to rebuild after losing ground in Syria and Iraq.
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He added that there were fewer that 12,000 Nato soldiers in the country, “and more than half of these are non-US forces”. Funding for their mission to train and help Afghan security forces had been allocated “through 2024”.
His fears were echoed by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who warned against any quick changes in defence or foreign policy over the next couple of months.
He told reporters on Tuesday that a “precipitous drawdown in Afghanistan or Iraq would be a mistake”.
Graph of overseas troops
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Military leaders were told at the weekend about the planned withdrawals, according to officials quoted by the Associated Press news agency. An executive order is being drawn up but has not yet been sent to commanders, they added.
Afghans dare to hope for peace
Has Trump kept his promises on the military?
In September, the Pentagon announced it was to withdraw more than a third of its troops from Iraq within weeks — from about 5,200 to 3,000.
At the time, top US Middle East commander Gen Kenneth McKenzie said those remaining would continue to advise and assist Iraqi security forces in “rooting out the final remnants” of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
Why are US forces deployed in Afghanistan?
US forces have been in Afghanistan since 2001. A US-led coalition ousted the Taliban weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US by al-Qaeda, which was then based in Afghanistan.
The Taliban regrouped and became an insurgent force that by 2018 was active in more than two-thirds of the country.
Trump hails deal with Taliban to end Afghan war
Afghanistan: the long road to peace
The US started withdrawing troops from Afghanistan as part of a historic peace deal signed by the US and the militants on 29 February.
media captionIs peace with the Taliban possible?
Military chiefs, including Gen McKenzie, have warned in the past that peace negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan authorities could be undermined by a hasty US withdrawal.
