Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed on Monday that the administration intends to reduce the number of US ground troops in Afghanistan some time before the 2020 presidential election. Timing and size are not yet settled.
With hope that a peace deal with the Taliban might be reached leading to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in the next few months, a troop cut within the next 15 months should almost go without saying.
Pompeo said President Trump made the decision, and that he was “unambiguous” about wanting to have the number of troops cut before the election. He added that he wanted the the overall need for troops int he region could be reduced.
This announcement adds to questions about the ongoing talks with the Taliban. On the one hand, the announced troop cut might reflect an expectation that the deal is going to call for that anyhow. At the same time, it’s not clear what the point would be if the deal to withdraw outright is as close as recent indications would say.
Meanwhile, the CIA drug trade will be ramped up. Trump says, boots on the ground look bad, especially before elections. But, al-CIAda will keep the Taliban away from the poppy fields for the time being.
The timing must be damned near perfect or it will backfire. Once the Taliban routes our puppet government, the public won’t look at the ending of the war with the same jingoistic viewpoint. So they have about a two week window.
He could start by taking out the 7000 troops he deployed in 2017.