July 29, 2019 / 3:05 PM / Updated 18 hours ago
Trump wants forces reduced in Afghanistan by next U.S. election: Pompeo
Lesley Wroughton, Rupam Jain
WASHINGTON/ KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump wants combat forces reduced in Afghanistan by the next U.S. presidential election, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, in comments that underlined the growing pressure from Washington to cut troop numbers there.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo boards his plane for travel to Thailand, and then on to Australia and the Federated States of Micronesia, from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S. July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Trump’s South Asia strategy, unveiled in August 2017, called for an open-ended deployment of U.S. forces with the goal of compelling the Taliban to negotiate peace with the Kabul government to end nearly 18 years of war.
However, Pompeo’s comments underscored a shift that has apparently taken place since talks with the Taliban opened last year.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-pompeo/trump-wants-forces-reduced-in-afghanistan-by-next-u-s-election-pompeo-idUSKCN1UO22R
