FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

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President Trump Commissions Withdrawal Plans from Afghanistan

Dec. 21, 2018 (EIRNS)—President Trump is considering withdrawing up to 7,000 troops of the 14,000 now deployed in Afghanistan, according to a report in the Dec. 20 the Wall Street Journal citing unnamed Defense Department officials. The report came just one day after the President announced his intention to begin withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, which total 2,000.

As in the case of Syria, the news of Trump’s moving on force-withdrawal from Afghanistan has provoked hysteria from the usual geopolitical quarters, with warnings that a U.S. withdrawal will spell disaster for the country, hand it over to ISIS, proclaiming that it is a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as is also being said of U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria.

Reuters reports that plans for the drawdown are being drafted to present to the President. Associated Press cited unnamed U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying that troops could be out by summer, but that no final decision on the timetable has been made.

Since entering Afghanistan in 2001, the U.S. has lost 2,400 soldiers and spent $900 billion.