Washington
The United States plans to cut its troop levels in Afghanistan to “a number less than 5,000” by the end of November, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in an interview broadcast on Saturday. This added details to the drawdown plans U.S. President Donald Trump announced earlier this week.
The United States currently has about 8,600 troops in Afghanistan. Trump said in an interview released Monday by Axios that the United States planned to lower that number to about 4,000.
Pentagon officials will inform Congress about the plan and “the US should ensure that there is no terrorist threat against it when leaving Afghanistan,” said Mark Esper.
Trump also said the US will lower troops to between 4,000 and 5,000 in Afghanistan by the US presidential election in November.
