Write For Us

US reduces troops in Afghanistan and Iraq | DW News

Sponsored Post Vitamin D2 Canada Persia
122 Views
Published
US President Donald Trump will sharply reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq before he leaves office, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday.
Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller said 2,000 troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan and 500 from Iraq by January 15. The drawdown will leave 2,500 US soldiers in each country. "This is consistent with our established plans and strategic objectives, supported by the American people, and does not equate to a change in US policy or objectives," said Miller, whom Trump appointed last week after firing Mark Epser. Trump, who is set to leave the White House after losing the US presidential election to Joe Biden, had previously vowed to pull out all troops in both countries by Christmas.

An agreement reached between the US and the Taliban in Qatar earlier this year sent into motion the beginning of a US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The deal laid out a 14-month plan to withdraw all military personnel from the US and its allies. Though the US has been reducing its military presence in Afghanistan, it is still diplomatically involved in the country's affairs. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in attendance when peace talks in Qatar between the Afghan government and the Taliban began in September.
The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, less than a month after the September 11 terror attacks.

Not long after the Pentagon's announcement, Iraq's military said four rockets struck in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. The rockets were fired from the al-Amin al-Thaniyah neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, the military said in a statement. There was no immediate claim for responsibility. Two Iraqi senior officials told the Associated Press the rockets struck just 600 meters (2,000 feet) away from the US Embassy. The rockets were intercepted by the C-RAM air defense system the US installed earlier this year. Two Iraqi security forces personnel were wounded, the officials said.

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1

For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/
Follow DW on social media:
►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/
►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews
►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews
Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/channel/deutschewelle
#UStroops #Afghanistan #Iraq
Category
Europe
Tags
us troops, us afghanistan, us iraq
Sign in or sign up to post comments.
Be the first to comment