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Trump tweets that US troops in Afghanistan should be home by Christmas

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the remaining American troops in Afghanistan “should” be home in the US by Christmas, Politico reports. In February this year, the US and the Taliban agreed that American soldiers would withdraw from Afghanistan in spring 2021.

In a tweet Wednesday evening, the president said: “We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!”

The president’s tweet did not clarify whether he plans to order a complete withdrawal by Christmas or whether he simply believes the troops ought to be home by the holiday.

In August, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters that the number of troops in Afghanistan would be reduced to less than 5,000 by the end of November this year. At the time of giving his remarks, Esper added that the Pentagon would need to brief members of Congress about the withdrawal and ensure that the US is not “threatened by terrorists coming out of Afghanistan,” Politico reports.

Last month, Politico reports, Commander of US troops in Afghanistan Army Gen. Austin Miller told media: “Taliban violence has to slow down — it has to stop. What it’s driving is an increase in violence across the country,” he said. “Their violence has to come down. The world is watching. We have an opportunity for peace, which is what the people of Afghanistan are looking for.”