President Donald Trump has decided to pull a significant number of troops from Afghanistan, a US official told AFP on Thursday, with some reports suggesting as many as 50 percent could leave the war-torn country.
President Donald Trump has decided to pull a significant number of troops from Afghanistan, a US official told AFP on Thursday, with some reports suggesting as many as 50 percent could leave the war-torn country.
The surprise move stunned and dismayed foreign diplomats and officials in Kabul who are involved in an intensifying push to end the 17-year conflict.
“If you’re the Taliban, Christmas has come early,” a senior foreign official in the Afghan capital told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
“Would you be thinking of a ceasefire if your main opponent has just withdrawn half their troops?”
It is not clear if US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad or the Afghan government had been aware of Trump’s plans. A spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani said “if there is any reaction by the Afghan government, we will share it later”.
