Earlier this week, it was reported that President Trump was keen to speed up the pullout from Afghanistan, because of concerns that the nation could soon find itself with coronavirus problems. The US has been cutting troops all this time, and are ahead of schedule.
When the peace deal was reached, the goal was to have 8,600 troops left by July. There are fewer than 10,000 left right now, and officials say that the 8,600 goal could be reached in just a few weeks. More cuts are expected after that.
The US never set a date to be out of Afghanistan at the time of the peace deal, but with Trump wanting out there seems to be a good chance that the level is just going to keep going down for the time being.
Trump had wanted cuts before the 2020 election, and cemented that this was going to happen with the Taliban peace deal. Even though post-deal progress has been slowed by the Afghan government’s lack of prisoner releases, the US is continuing the cuts.
” …for the time being.” being the operative sentence fragment. Trump seems to have zero intention in ever pulling his foot out of the doorway to the Hindu Kush. Pulling a thousand troops here, a thousand troops there, especially during a plague infected campaign year, is perfect for popcorn headlines, but as long as a 4 digit presence remains, along with funding/arms to Kabul’s bustling little quisling state, we will permanently remain on the brink of another surge. When Trump starts shuttering our bases in the various stans surrounding Taliban country, that’s when you can pop the cork. But don’t count on it.
They have to keep some troops there to protect the CIA’s heroin ‘investment’. There may also be some genuine natural resources, like rare earth metals, that the USSA wants to get a piece of.
Since the number of ‘troops’ is NATO military + contractors reporting the # of US military does not mean that much.
Unless all the mercenaries at Xe and other blood-profiteering companies are withdrawn too, the money will continue to pour down the proverbial toilet.
Erik Prince’s plans to privatize the Afghan war probably never left the table; its just that the Pentagon would be uncomfortable leaving behind their cut of that take.
https://www.forbes.com/return-of-erik-prince/#1cfc93a750aa