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WASHINGTON: The US military has cut troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 each, their lowest levels in the nearly two decades since the wars began, the Pentagon announced.
Outgoing President Donald Trump, seeking to fulfill a campaign promise to end the two wars launched after the 9/11 attacks, had ordered force levels slashed in both countries to that level by January 15 — despite initial pushback from the Pentagon.
Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller said progress towards peace in both countries permits the cuts without a decrease in security for Americans and their counterparts.
“Today, the United States is closer than ever to ending nearly two decades of war and welcoming in an Afghan-owned, Afghan-led peace process to achieve a political settlement and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire,” he said in a statement.
He said more cuts depend on the progress of the peace talks between the Afghanistan government and Taliban insurgents.
The US invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. There has been a resurgence in violence across the country since NATO withdrew its combat forces in 2014 and civilians paying a disproportionate price.
Washington struck a deal with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar on February 29, 2020 to begin withdrawing in return for security guarantees from the militants and a commitment to peace talks with Kabul.
The talks are ongoing but have stuttered amid violence and accusations of slow progress. Meanwhile, the Taliban has continued its deadly attacks on Afghan security forces and civilians alike.
Even as the drawdown was announced, officials said that at least nine Afghan security personnel were killed when Taliban attacked police checkpoints overnight in the restive northern province of Kunduz.
The drawdown in Afghanistan is faster than initially planned under the terms of the US-Taliban deal. Miller took over as Pentagon chief after Trump fired his predecessor Mark Esper in November, in part because he insisted that the level should stay at 4,500 troops until the Taliban followed through on reducing violence.
Miller said the Pentagon aims at “further reducing US troop levels to zero by May of 2021,” but added that “any such future drawdowns remain conditions-based.”
NATO — whose chief Jens Stoltenberg has warned against a hasty Afghan withdrawal for fear the country could again become a “platform for international terrorists” — still maintains a force of less than 11,000 in the country.
On Iraq, Miller said the US force reduction reflects “the increased capabilities of the Iraqi security forces” but added that the reduction does not equate to a change in US policy.
