Military walks a fine line in discussing Afghanistan after Trump orders withdrawal plans
A week after President Trump directed the military to draw up plans to withdraw about half the U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan, military officials are walking a fine line detailing the future of the longest U.S. war in history.
Trump pressed White House national security adviser John Bolton to make the move Dec. 18, and he and other U.S. officials were trying to talk him out of it, administration officials said. Since then, no announcements have been made, and senior U.S. military officers have said they have received no new orders.
The situation has put the U.S. generals in the awkward position of attempting to downplay the significance of a potential reduction in U.S. troops in Afghanistan while American diplomats try to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban. They must do so just weeks ahead of Trump’s State of the Union address, slated for Jan. 22, an event at which presidents often roll out new policy plans.
Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, have dismissed the reports as “rumors.” Miller, speaking to Afghan officials in Nangahar province Sunday, said he had no new orders, “so nothing changed.”
"We are the same today as we were yesterday, and we’ll be the same tomorrow,” Miller said, speaking in a room in which a camera from the largest Afghan TV station, Tolo News, was allowed.
“But if I do get orders, I think it’s important for you to know that we are still with the security forces," Miller added, according to a transcript. "Even if I have to get a little bit smaller, we’ll be okay. We’ve thought about this before, and we will be able to do the things that you require in terms of support.”
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