President Trump has been intent on getting U.S. troops out of Afghanistan since his first day in office. But against his better judgment, in 2017, Trump was swayed by his advisers, including then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and then-Defense Secretary James Mattis, to send thousands of American reinforcements to prop up beleaguered Afghan government forces. Mattis and Tillerson sold Trump on a strategy aimed at convincing the Taliban that victory on the battlefield was unachievable and that the organization’s only option would be to negotiate a peace. The result has been a prolonged stalemate.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley called Trump’s Feb. 29 deal with the Taliban, which outlines conditions for a full withdrawal of U.S. troops by May 2021, “the best opportunity to end the war” and “the best hope for a peaceful future.”
