2 U. S. service members killed in Afghanistan
Just hours after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that President Donald Trump wants a reduction in American troop levels in Afghanistan before the 2020 election, the U. S. military announced that two U. S. service members had been killed in that country on Monday.
No additional details about the deaths were released and the names of the service members were withheld so that next of kin could be notified. They are the fourth and fifth American service members to be killed in Afghanistan in a little over a month.
In remarks at the Economic Club of Washington earlier in the day, Mr. Pompeo said that Mr. Trump had “been unambiguous” in his directive: “end the endless wars, draw down, reduce. It won’t just be us.”
Mr. Pompeo has repeatedly stated that reducing troop levels would be conditions- based, but has typically shied away from discussions around timing for a withdrawal.
“I’d love to get to a place where I felt like we had enough counterterrorism posture still in the region and in the country that we could substantially reduce the number of soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines that are at risk there every day,” he said in an interview with Fox News last week, noting that U. S. and NATO forces would be “leaving together.”
Mr. Pompeo’s comments came a day after a deadly attack in Kabul, which left at least 20 people dead and 50 wounded.
In a June visit to Afghanistan’s capital city, Mr. Pompeo said that the U. S. had made it clear to the Taliban that they were “prepared to remove our forces,” but had not yet agreed on a timeline.
During his Kabul visit, Mr. Pompeo voiced optimism that a peace deal could be reached by Sept. 1, but said last week “these things have a way of slipping days and weeks.” On Monday, he said there had been “real progress” in negotiations.
Mr. Khalilzad was still in Afghanistan on Monday after more than a week of meetings.
“We think there’s a path to reduce violence, achieve reconciliation and still make sure that the American counterterrorism effort in Afghanistan has a value and the potential to reduce risk here in the states,” he said.
Mr. Trump has publicly voiced his desire to bring an end to the US presence in the 18- year conflict. He recently stirred outrage by suggesting that he could bring a swift end to the war by obliterating the nation.