Pentagon planning troop pull-out from Afghanistan, US official claims
- President Donald Trump considers America’s longest war a lost cause, after 17 years and nearly US$900 billion spent on the conflict
The Pentagon is developing plans to withdraw up to half of the 14,000 American troops serving in Afghanistan, US officials said on Thursday, marking a sharp change in the Trump administration’s policy aimed at forcing the Taliban to the peace table after more than 17 years of war.
One official said the troops could be out by summer, but no final decision has been made.
President Donald Trump has long pushed to pull troops out of Afghanistan, considering the war a lost cause. But earlier this year, he was persuaded by Defence Secretary James Mattis and others military leaders to keep troops on the ground to pressure the Taliban and battle a stubborn Islamic State insurgency.
Publicly, Trump’s national security team has said the approach was effective. During a trip to Afghanistan in July, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo insisted Trump’s strategy to fight the Taliban was working. Those thoughts were similar to those shared by Mattis, who called Afghanistan a “tough fight” but said the American effort “is working from our perspective”.