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

US Air Force members train Afghan Air Force personnel in Logar Province, Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON - The Trump government has ordered the army to withdraw about 7,000 troops from Afghanistan in the coming months, two defense officials said on Thursday, a bruta
l change over the last 17 years and a decision that has surprised Afghan officials had not been informed of the plans.

Trump has made the decision to withdraw his troops, about half of that of the United States in Afghanistan, while he decided to withdraw his forces from Syria, said an official.

The announcement was made a few hours later, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced that he would step down at the end of February after disagreeing with the president over his approach to Middle East politics. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report development.

The whirlwind of troop withdrawals and Mattis' resignation leave a blurred picture for what is left of the longest war in the United States and have been affected by the spasm of violence that is hitting the capital, Kabul and others. important areas. . The United States also held talks with Taliban officials as part of what the officials described as discussions likely to lead to formal talks to end the 17-year war.

Senior Afghan officials and Western diplomats in Kabul woke up on Friday morning in the midst of the news, many of them preparing for chaos. Several Afghan officials, who are often aware of security measures and security decisions, have indicated that they have no indication in recent days that the Americans were withdrawing their troops. The fear that President Trump will take impulsive measures, however, has often manifested in the depths of discussions with the United States, they said.

They viewed the abrupt decision as a further sign of the lack of voice in the debate over the war and the resignation of Mr. Mattis. Afghanistan had lost one of the last influential voices in Washington that was guiding the reality of the war. conflict inward. The deliberations of the White House.

The reduction of US forces in Afghanistan, said a US official, is an effort to make Afghan forces more dependent on their own troops and not Western support.

Some fear, however, that the move could only endanger Afghan troops, who fought in the campaign against the Taliban and suffered a high loss rate, even with the current support of the United States.

Commander Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman, declined to comment on the plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

The news of the planned withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan has surprised officials in this country. One said that "nothing was communicated", even though Afghan officials were aware of the possibility of withdrawal.

The president made a long campaign to bring the troops home, but in 2017, at the request of Mr. Mattis, he reluctantly pledged an additional 4,000 troops to the Afghan campaign to try to hasten the end of the conflict.

Although Pentagon officials said the influx of forces, along with a more aggressive air campaign, contributed to the war effort, Afghan forces continued to suffer almost unsustainable losses and Taliban.

The resumption of US efforts in 2017 was the first step for Afghan forces to be more independent without a set deadline for withdrawal. But with plans to rapidly reduce the number of US troops in the country, it is not clear whether Afghans can defend themselves against an increasingly aggressive Taliban.

Currently, US airstrikes are at levels never seen since the height of the war, when tens of thousands of US troops scattered across the country. Air support, according to officials, consists mainly of supporting Afghan troops while trying to maintain the territory of a resurrected Taliban.

Lieutenant-General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. of the Marine Corps, the new commander of Central Command, told lawmakers at their confirmation this month that the Afghan army would dissolve without support from the United States.

"If we leave hurriedly at the moment, I do not think they can defend their country successfully," he said. "I do not know how long it will take, I think that one of the things that would make them sicker would be if we set a schedule and told them we were leaving at a certain time."

The only advantage of Trump's decision to withdraw his troops from Afghanistan is that it could be coordinated with the peace talks as a confidence-building measure, but many officials have suggested the impulsiveness of this announcement and the suggested schedule which is probably not the case. .

On Thursday, before the announcement of the withdrawal, Zalmay Khalilzad, the Trump government's special representative for Afghan reconciliation negotiations, said he had made it clear to the Taliban that the United States was committed to Afghanistan.

"If they want to fight or continue to fight, we assure them that the United States will support the government and the people of Afghanistan," he said.

In announcing a new strategy for Afghanistan last year, President Trump criticized the Obama administration for telling the Taliban about its plans for open reduction. The military praised open engagement based on the conditions on the ground, even though it was still fed up with an impulsive president. US soldiers and generals have even described the conflict as a "generational war" for US troops, unlike Vietnam or Korea.

The plan to reduce US forces in the country comes days after the United Arab Emirates held two days of talks between the United States and the Taliban.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the Trump administration's special representative for Afghan reconciliation talks, spoke to the Afghan media about the progress of the talks.

Khalilzad said the Taliban's request remained an agreement on the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, while the United States sought assurances from the militant group that Afghanistan would not become a safe haven for Afghans. terrorists.

It is unclear how the recently planned downsizing could affect the administration's Taliban negotiations.

In addition to the current contingent of approximately 14,000 US troops, 16,000 NATO troops and allies deployed in Afghanistan are primarily responsible for training and advising Afghan forces.

If US troops fall to about 7,000 people, they will be at their lowest level since March 2002, the start of the largest onslaught of war in Operation Anaconda.

US troops currently in Afghanistan are divided between training and advising Afghan forces and an anti-terrorist mission against groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Those involved in the withdrawal of 7,000 soldiers will be a mix of forces from both missions.

More than 2,400 Americans have died in Afghanistan since 2001 and this year 13 have died in combat. Since the end of 2014, when the Pentagon announced the end of combat operations in the country, more than 25,000 Afghan soldiers and police have died.