Trump: US to keep 8,600 troops in Afghanistan after Taliban deal

[mystery-ak]

Trump: US to keep 8,600 troops in Afghanistan after Taliban deal
By Rebecca Kheel - 08/29/19 11:04 AM EDT

President Trump said Thursday he will reduce the U.S. presence in Afghanistan to 8,600 troops after a deal with the Taliban is reached in the 18-year-old war.

“We’re going down to 8,600, and then we’ll make a determination from there as to what happens,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News radio.

Trump stressed the need for a residual presence to prevent an attack on the United States, adding that if such an attack were to happen “we would come back with a force like they’ve seen never before."

"Oh yeah, you have to keep a presence," Trump said. "We're going to keep a presence there. We're reducing that presence very substantially, and we're going to always have a presence. We're going to have high intelligence."


Trump’s envoy for Afghan peace talks, Zalmay Khalilzad, is in Qatar seeking to put the finishing touches on a deal with the Taliban in the ninth round of talks. The Taliban said Wednesday that a deal was close.

more
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/459281-trump-us-to-drawdown-to-8600-troops-in-afghanistan

[TomSea]

Roughly 14,000 troops there now to dip to 8,600; not even the lowest we have had there (8,300, see article):

Trump says US will maintain 8,600 troops in Afghanistan after major withdrawal

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Thursday he intends to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Afghanistan but would maintain a presence of 8,600 for now.

"We're going down to 8,600 and then we make a determination from there as to what happens," Trump told Fox News radio on Thursday. "We'll make a determination, but we're going down to 8,600, we're bringing it down. We have it very well controlled."

Trump's remarks come as the U.S. is negotiating with the Taliban to reduce the roughly 14,000 troops currently in Afghanistan after nearly 18 years of war. Both sides have indicated those talks are closing in on an agreement. Trump was briefed on the status of those talks earlier this month at his golf course in New Jersey.

Read more at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/29/donald-trump-troop-presence-afghanistan-would-fall-8-600/2151508001/

Trump Says U.S. To Retain Military Presence In Afghanistan, Even With Peace Deal

President Donald Trump says the United States will continue to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan even after a peace deal with the Taliban is reached.

Speaking in an interview on Fox News radio on August 29, Trump said troop levels would fall to around 8,600 "and then we make a determination from there."

"Oh yeah, you have to keep a presence," Trump said in the interview.

Read more at: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-says-u-s-to-retain-military-presence-in-afghanistan-even-with-peace-deal/30136507.html

Sounds proper enough to me.

[TomSea]

Bump to the top, I thought of even a poll on whether we should withdraw....this certainly seems like a compromise but in my view, the right decision.

Updated with figures.

[Fishrrman]

The number of troops Fishrrman wants to see in Afghanistan:
ZERO.

[TomSea]

Thank you for all of your posts @Fishrrman  , you are an asset to the World News Forum.

[Chosen Daughter]

Bump.

is this number enough to keep our troops safe?

[TomSea]

Merged topics, this is important.