U.S. to Withdraw About 7,000 Troops From Afghanistan, Officials Say

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is withdrawing roughly 7,000 troops from Afghanistan in the coming months, two defense officials said Thursday, around half of what the American military has there now.

Mr. Trump made the decision at the same time he decided he was pulling American forces out of Syria, one official said. The move is likely one of the first steps to end the United States’ involvement in the 17-year-old war.

The 14,000 American troops currently in Afghanistan are divided between training and advising Afghan forces and a counterterror mission against groups like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. The reduction, one official said, is in an effort to make Afghan forces more reliant on their own troops and not Western support.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the development.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/politics/afghanistan-troop-withdrawal.html