US soldier in Afghanistan (archive)
Photo: DANISH SIDDIQUI / REUTERSThe US wants to reduce its troop strength in Afghanistan to below 5,000 by the end of November. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in an interview with Fox News. The USA currently has around 8,600 soldiers in the civil war country in which the radical Islamic Taliban repeatedly carry out attacks. US President Donald Trump had recently said that he wanted to push the troop strength to around 4,000.
The strong military has always been the greatest asset in peace negotiations with the Taliban. The withdrawal of US troops has always been the most important negotiating point - and thus the decisive lever for the USA. But Trump wants to save costs and keep his election promise to bring troops back from the conflict regions.
The current troop strength of around 8,600 soldiers has so far been considered the minimum in order to maintain the military mission.
Icon: The mirrorrwi / Reuters
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