The United States is still on track to meet President Trump’s Afghanistan drawdown target despite heavy resistance from some lawmakers in recent months.
“We do this very well in [the Department of Defense]. We can get up very quickly, move great numbers of people very quickly. It seems to be it’s a very segmented and incremental withdrawal, and we’re going to meet the timeline,” a senior defense official told Breitbart.
The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be reduced to about 2,500 by Jan. 15, down from the current number of about 4,000 troops.
Trump ordered the drawdown to 2,500 last month despite fierce resistance from lawmakers in both parties.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said such a quick drawdown would be a “mistake” and urged Trump not to make any more defense policy changes for the rest of the year.
Sen. Ben Sasse shared McConnell’s fears, calling the drawdown a “retreat.”
“Headlines about ‘bringing the boys home’ sound good, but that’s not what’s happening,” the Nebraska Republican said. “I fear this weak retreat is not grounded in reality and will make the world a more dangerous place.”
On the other side of the isle, Iraq veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth said the withdrawal would embolden the Taliban.
“At a time when we are finally seeing serious peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban, Donald Trump is unilaterally taking one of our best bargaining chips off the table and getting nothing in return,” Duckworth said.
Trump has threatened to veto the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, in part because lawmakers included provisions that could put up roadblocks to the president’s planned withdrawal.
“I will Veto the Defense Bill, which will make China very unhappy,” Trump tweeted Thursday. “They love it. Must have Section 230 termination, protect our National Monuments and allow for removal of military from far away, and very unappreciative, lands. Thank you!”
The measure initially passed both chambers with a veto-proof majority, setting the stage for the first veto override of Trump’s presidency.
Despite the bickering between Trump and lawmakers, officials have said the U.S. drawdown will continue and that they can still meet the counterterrorism needs in Afghanistan with the smaller footprint.
“You’re still going to see a constellation. It’s just going to be smaller. So, it’ll be a few less bases. You’ll still have a constellation of bases. You’ll still have the ability to do the mission that we’ve been doing,” the official told Breitbart.
The official pointed out that NATO troops would also remain with the force of about 2,500 Americans.
While leaders acknowledged that the Taliban has not met all of the commitments in a peace deal negotiated by the Trump administration and groups such as the Islamic State have established a base of operations in the country, the military will maintain the ability to counter their activities.
“As a government and a department, we still have concerns about al Qaeda in Afghanistan and certainly ISIS and their activities long after our footprint changes. We’re still going to have a very laser focus on those activities and those groups,” the official said.
“It’s going to be a winding road,” the official added.
