Sayeed Muhammad of DOT
US President Donald Trump reportedly “lost his cool” as he ordered the Pentagon to look into options to reduce the 14,000-strong US contingent in Afghanistan, defying his generals’ advice.
Trump has become increasingly frustrated over the Afghan stalemate, pushing for the end of the 17-year-long US campaign there over the past several weeks. On Wednesday, Trump ostensibly discussed the potential pullout or a considerable reduction of the US force with his outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and his hawkish National Security Advisor John Bolton. The commander-in-chief, however, has not been supported for his withdrawal plan. Hours before the deliberations were reported by US media, Mattis handed in his resignation letter, citing contradictions with Trump.
There have been conflicting reports regarding when the potential pullout could take place.
US troops might leave the war-torn country “in the coming weeks.” Two defence officials said no concrete decision has yet been made and that the Pentagon is likely to present its report “shortly after the new year.”
The reports come at a time when part of the American public and even Trump’s allies in the Republican Party have been incensed over his decision to withdraw some 2,000 American troops from Syria after declaring “victory” over Islamic State there.
The possible scale-down in the American war on terror in Afghanistan, which has dragged on since 2001, has caught many off-guard and elicited cautious praise from some of Trump’s usual opponents, like Hillary Clinton’s former foreign policy spokesman Jesse Lehrich, who called it “a lot less stupid” than withdrawing 2,000 troops from Syria.
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