U.S. cuts force level to 8,600 troops
KABUL — The United States has reduced the number of troops it has in Afghanistan to 8,600 in accordance with a preliminary peace deal with the Taliban, a top American general said, even as other aspects of the plan to end the war have faced setbacks and delays.
At the peak of the nearly twodecade war, there were more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, along with tens of thousands from about 40 nations in the U.S.led NATO coalition. That number has dropped in recent years, as all sides admitted the war could not be won militarily. The United States shifted to a strategy of seeking a political settlement, which has proved to be halting and complicated.
The signing of the deal with the Taliban in February initiated a phased withdrawal of the roughly 12,000 U.S. military personnel who were still in the country. The agreement also included a prisoner exchange and direct negotiations between the
Taliban and Afghanistan’s government over the country’s political future.
American officials said they also had an understanding with the Taliban that violence levels would be reduced by 80 percent, though that wasn’t spelled out in the deal.
“We have met our part of the agreement,” said Gen. Frank McKenzie, who leads U.S. Central Command. “We’ve agreed to go to mid8,000 range within 135 days. We’re at that number now.”
McKenzie, who was speaking Thursday in a video4conference organized by the Aspen
Strategy Group, suggested that completing a full withdrawal in 14 months, as the deal calls for, would depend in part on the Taliban. He said they should demonstrate that they had severed ties with al Qaeda and engage with the Afghan government by reducing violence and starting direct talks on powersharing.
President Trump, facing an election in November, has made no secret of his desire to bring troops home. But commanders in his military worry that a premature withdrawal could lead to collapse and anarchy in Afghanistan.