US force level in Afghanistan was being reduced to 8,600 from 14,000.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that US troop levels in Afghanistan were being reduced to 8,600 but that American forces would remain in the country even if Washington reaches an agreement with the Taliban to end the 18-year war.
The Taliban said on Wednesday it was close to a “final agreement” with US officials on a deal that would see US forces withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a pledge that the country would not become a haven for other Islamist militant groups. The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and ousted its Taliban leaders after they refused to hand over members of the al Qaeda militant group behind the Sept 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
He denied the United States was acting too quickly by reducing troop levels, something he criticised his predecessor, Barack Obama, for doing in Iraq.Trump warned that any attack on the United States again from Afghan territory would bring a massive response.On Wednesday, the top US military officer, Marine General Joseph Dunford, told reporters that it was too early to talk about the future of US counterterrorism troops in Afghanistan.
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