From Military.com:
“Trump Makes
It Official with Troop Reductions in Iraq, Afghanistan”
President
Donald Trump has officially called for a significant troop reduction in
Afghanistan and Iraq, citing no immediate national security threat to the
American people, his new acting defense secretary said Tuesday. "By Jan.
15, 2021, our forces, their size in Afghanistan, will be 2,500, and our force
size in Iraq will also be 2,500 by that same date," Acting Defense
Secretary Christopher Miller announced from the Pentagon. "We owe this
moment to the many patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice," he said of
the 6,900 troops who have died and the 52,000 who've been wounded during the
nearly two-decade conflicts in the region. "This decision by the president
is based on continuous engagement with this national security cabinet over the
past several months, including ongoing discussions with me and my colleagues
across the United States government." Miller said he alerted members of
Congress about the decision Tuesday morning. "I have also spoken with our
military commanders, and we all will execute this repositioning in a way that
protects our fighting men and women, our partners in the intelligence community
and diplomatic corps, and our superb allies that are critical to rebuilding
Afghan and Iraqi security capabilities and civil society for lasting peace in
troubled lands," he said. Trump appointed Miller, previously the director
of the National Counterterrorism Center and a former Army Special Forces
officer, to the acting SecDef position earlier this month following the firing
of Mark Esper. Since then, reports have swirled that the president has been
planning to reduce the U.S. end strength in the Middle East -- an early
campaign promise -- before his presidency ends Jan. 20. Trump has yet to
formally concede to his successor, President-elect Joe Biden, who has secured
306 electoral votes since Election Day. Miller issued a memo Friday to the
force signaling a decision was imminent. "This is the critical phase in
which we transition our efforts from a leadership to supporting role," he
said in the memo, which was obtained by multiple news outlets. "We are not
a people of perpetual war. … We met the challenge; we gave it our all. Now, it's
time to come home."
There are
roughly 4,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and 3,000 in Iraq. The reduction would
mean approximately 2,500 troops total would come home, or redeploy to other
regions. The Defense Department did not detail which units will remain behind. A
senior defense official told reporters Tuesday, ahead of Miller's announcement,
that the Pentagon, commanders and national security officials came to a
"collaborative" conclusion that 2,500 personnel is the right fit for
the current U.S. Central Command mission. The official did not detail what
conditions have been met on the ground regarding enemy combatants such as the
Taliban or al-Qaida, but said experts believe U.S. national security is no
longer explicitly threatened. The U.S.' new force posture still "permits
us to carry out a mission with allies and partners," the official added. Should
there be "a fracturing event" in the future, top leaders trust troops
are still capable of sustaining operations at those levels, the official said. "The
dynamics of the mission have not changed," the official added. "The
solution in Afghanistan is to broker a power sharing or some form of agreement
whereby the Taliban and the Afghan people can live side by side in peace. … One
is not going to militarily defeat the other, nor are we going to engage in a
decade's long war to that end, which we will not meet. So we feel this is the
best decision to drive toward the peace agreement that we've been working
on." Early in his presidency, Trump made clear his preference to give more
leeway to generals, allowing them to take an aggressive approach toward
stamping out extremist threats. Then, despite an increasing operations tempo
for U.S. and coalition aircraft between 2017 and 2019, Trump indicated he was
open to downsizing troop strength in the region to bring more American
personnel home. In his State of the Union address in February 2019, Trump
highlighted the need to pull out of Afghanistan entirely. "Great nations
do not fight endless wars," he said. "We have spent more than $7
trillion in the Middle East."
Taliban and
U.S. officials met several times last year in an effort to negotiate a
potential peace deal and troop withdrawal; one such meeting followed the
president's trip to the region on Thanksgiving Day. But the peace process had
setbacks, with bouts of recurring violence the U.S. has called
"distressingly high" in recent months. Prior to his firing, Esper
sent a classified memo to top-level officials, including those in the White
House, discouraging troop reductions until certain conditions were met in
Afghanistan, according to a report from CNN. Those conditions were not
detailed, but a unanimous decision was reached between Esper; Marine Gen.
Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie, the head of CENTCOM; and Army Gen. Austin
Miller, commander of NATO's mission in Afghanistan, CNN said. The senior
defense official refused to address Esper's memo Tuesday, saying, "There
is no contradiction with the president and his national security cabinet."
Following the
announcement, lawmakers had mixed reactions on what the weeks ahead will entail
for the U.S. posture in the region. "As we evaluate the situation in
Afghanistan and coordinate with our allies, we must ensure that our strategy
and posture reflect the conditions on the ground," said Sen. Jim Inhofe,
R-Okla., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, though he endorsed
the move in general. "President Trump's South Asia strategy has been
extremely successful, and his administration has scored major counterterrorism
wins across the region, including taking out terrorist henchmen al-Baghdadi,
Soleimani, and al-Rimi," Inhofe said in a statement. "His military
strategy has always reflected conditions on the ground, rather than being tied
to an arbitrary calendar like his predecessor. Keeping the right military
footprint in Afghanistan to perform counterterrorism missions and support our
allies and Afghan partners is an essential part of that realistic approach, and
is vital to protecting the homeland from attacks." Rep. Adam Smith,
D-Wash., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also offered a
stamp of approval, calling it "the right policy decision." "While
the history of conflict in the region is complex and predates our direct
involvement, after nearly 20 years of armed conflict, Americans and Afghans
alike are ready for the violence to end," Smith said. However, Rep. Mac
Thornberry, R-Texas, called the move a hasty lapse in judgment that undercuts
negotiations with Afghan and Taliban leaders. "I believe that these
additional reductions of American troops from terrorist areas are a
mistake," said Thornberry, the ranking member of the House Armed Services
Committee. He is set to retire next month. "The Taliban has done nothing
-- met no condition -- that would justify this cut," he said. "As
long as there are threats to Americans and American national security in the
world, the U.S. must be vigilant, strong, and engaged in order to safeguard our
people and fulfill our duty under the Constitution."
^ Even with
this drawdown Trump still does not keep his promise of ending America’s two
longest wars. Not only that, but the American Soldiers left behind in
Afghanistan and Iraq after January 15, 2021 will be at greater danger with less
resources to deal with that extra violence. Either send every single American
Soldier in Afghanistan and Iraq home or give them the resources they deserve
and need. ^
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