Trump laying groundwork for full US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan before leaving office

Published November 16, 2020 12:02pm ET



‘ALL WARS MUST END’: In what was labeled as his initial message to all Defense Department employees, acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller walked a fine line, hinting that he may be ordered to oversee the withdrawal of the remaining U.S. troops in Afghanistan, something President Trump said in an Oct. 7 tweet should happen by Christmas.

“This fight has been long, our sacrifices have been enormous. and many are weary of war — I’m one of them — but this is the critical phase in which we transition our efforts from a leadership to supporting role,” wrote Miller, a former Green Beret. “We are not a people of perpetual war — it is the antithesis of everything for which we stand and for which our ancestors fought. All wars must end.”

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