US Commanders Dismiss Afghan Drawdown as ‘Rumors’

Persistent media reports that President Trump has ordered a drawdown from Afghanistan, with either 5,000 or 7,000 troops returning home, seemed more or less confirmed. Despite this, some of the highest ranking Pentagon officials claim to know nothing about it.

Visiting Camp Dahlke West, Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shrugged off the reports when talking to troops, saying “there’s all kinds of rumors swirling around,” bt that the mission was unchanged.

This comes after the commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, said he’d received no orders on any drawdown yet. Miller has followed that up by saying the fighting will continue until there is a political settlement.

Miller’s comments reflect ongoing efforts to reach such a settlement, and the reality that the reports don’t suggest a full US withdrawal from Afghanistan is imminent. Yet it is curious that, after a week of reports to the contrary, top military brass aren’t confirming a drawdown as happening at all.