Fresh off of reporting that President Trump had called for a substantial
drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan before the 2020 election,
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo now says that the reporters “got it wrong” and that there is no deadline for troop cuts.
Pompeo had said just the day prior that Trump was “unambiguous” about the drawdown, and that the policy was “end the endless wars, draw down, reduce.” It’s not clear how that could’ve been misinterpreted, though Pompeo now insists that’s not the policy.
Rather, Pompeo merely says that troop cuts are his personal “hope,” that
he’d like to see US troops out before the next election, glibly adding
to reporters on his flight that he’d also hope to see US troops out of
Afghanistan before the plane lands.
Where that leaves actually US policy is unclear. There are ongoing talks
with the Taliban which are said to be aiming for a deal that would end
nearly two decades of US occupation of Afghanistan, and even though that
deal seems quite close, the administration continues to downplay the
possibility of actually following through in any real timetable.
Pompeo Backs Away From Talk of Afghan Drawdown Before 2020 Vote
Now claims there is no deadline for troop cuts
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
