US President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan by Christmas this year.
"We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!" Trump said in a tweet Wednesday night.
After an agreement with the Taliban on February 29 this year, the US reduced its force level to 8,600 and turned five bases over to its Afghan partners.
This August, the president made a determination that the conditions in Afghanistan were sufficient to reduce the force presence to between 4,000 and 5,000 by November end.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, David F Helvey, told lawmakers last month that Pentagon is making "prudent planning" to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by May next year.
(To download our E-paper please click here. The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
