U.S. National Security Adviser Says The U.S. Will Reduce Its Troops In Afghanistan To 2,500 By Early 2021

Reuters: U.S. to go down to 2,500 troops in Afghanistan by early 2021: Trump adviser 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will reduce its troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 early next year, national security adviser Robert O’Brien said on Wednesday, offering greater detail about the pace and scope of the drawdown from America’s longest war. 

A landmark deal between the United States and the Taliban in February said that foreign forces will leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for counter-terrorism guarantees from the Taliban, which agreed to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and a power-sharing formula with the Afghan government. 

President Donald Trump and other officials have said that the United States will go down to between 4,000 and 5,000 troops in Afghanistan around November. 

Beyond that, officials have said that a reduction will depend on conditions in Afghanistan. 

“When President Trump took office, there were over 10,000 American troops in Afghanistan. 

As of today there are under 5,000 and that will go to 2,500 by early next year,” O’Brien said at an event at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 

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Update: US to Reduce Troop Numbers in Afghanistan to 2,500 by Early 2021 - O'Brien (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: It is time to leave when you read stories like this one .... US troops watch as their kids fight same war in Afghanistan (NYPost).