Trump has previously stated that he wants “all military” to return to America by Christmas.
According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Defense Ministry officials quoted by the American media claim that US President Donald Trump intends to order the further withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. The number of US troops in Afghanistan will decline from 5,000 to 2,500 by mid-January, officials said.
“The withdrawal of troops should be completed by January 15th. Trump has long called on the Pentagon to return US troops home and criticized US military interventions for their high cost and ineffectiveness”, – the statement said.
The military leaders were informed of a planned withdrawal over the weekend, officials quoted by the Associated Press said. They added that the White House is now preparing an appropriate order, but it has not yet been sent to the Ministry of Defense. In September, the Pentagon announced that it plans to withdraw more than a third of its troops from Iraq within a few weeks, reducing the military contingent in that country from about 5,200 to 3,000.