Acting Pentagon chief announces U.S.

military reduction in Iraq and

Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — Acting Pentagon chief Christopher Miller said Tuesday
that the United States will reduce its military presence in Afghanistan to 2,500
troops and 2,500 troops in Iraq by Jan. 15.
The United States has approximately 4,500 troops currently in Afghanistan
and more than 3,000 in Iraq.
“This decision by the president is based on continuous engagement
(переговори; співпраця) with his national security cabinet over the past several
months including ongoing discussions with me and my colleagues across the
United States government,” Miller said at the Pentagon.
“And just this morning, I spoke with key leaders in Congress as well as our
allies ['ælaɪz] and partners abroad to update them on these plans in light of our
shared approach,” Miller said, adding that he spoke with NATO Secretary-General
Stoltenberg and Afghanistan’s President Ghani on Tuesday. “We went in together
(починати атаку), we adjust (налагодити справи) together and when the time is
right, we will leave together,” Miller said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Stoltenberg warned that leaving the war-torn country
(охоплена війною країна) too soon or in an uncoordinated effort (неузгоджена
дія) could present unintended consequences (непередбачені, небажані наслідки)
for the world’s largest military organization.
“Afghanistan risks becoming once again a platform for international
terrorists to plan and organize attacks on our homelands. And ISIS (Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria; Ісламська держава Іраку та Леванту (ІДІЛ) could rebuild in
Afghanistan the terror caliphate it lost in Syria and Iraq,” the NATO chief said,
referring to Islamic State militants.
In 2003, NATO joined the international security effort in Afghanistan and
currently has more than 7,000 troops in the country. NATO’s security operation in
Afghanistan was launched after the alliance activated its mutual defense clause —
known as Article 5 — for the first time in the wake of (після, на фоні, в
результаті) the 9/11 attacks.
Last week, Miller ascended to the Pentagon’s acting Secretary of Defense
role after President Donald Trump’s sudden termination of Secretary of Defense
Mark Esper.
In an early Saturday morning message to Department of Defense employees,
Miller said he was “weary of (втомитися) war” and that it was time to end
America’s conflicts in the Middle East.
“We are not a people of perpetual war — it is the antithesis [æn'tɪθəsɪs] of
everything for which we stand for which our ancestors fought. All wars must end,”
Miller wrote, adding that the U.S. was “on the verge of (на грані, близький до)
defeating Al Qaida and its associates.”
“We met the challenge; we gave it our all. Now, it’s time to come home,”
Miller wrote.
The wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria have cost U.S. taxpayers more than
$1.57 trillion since Sept. 11, 2001, according to a Defense Department report. The
war in Afghanistan, which has dragged on (затягуватися) to become America’s
longest conflict, began 19 years ago and has cost U.S. taxpayers $193 billion,
according to the Pentagon.
Trump, who campaigned in 2016 on stopping “ridiculous endless wars” in
the Middle East, took to Twitter last month to announce that American forces
currently serving in Afghanistan will be home by Christmas.
At the time, it was unclear if Trump was giving an order via tweet or
reiterating [ri:'ɪtəreɪt] (нагадувати; підтверджувати; повторно заявляти) a long-
held campaign promise in order to appeal to voters ahead of the U.S. presidential
election.
We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and
Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!
Earlier this year, the United States brokered a peace deal (укласти угоду в
результаті переговорів) with the Taliban that would usher (сприяти;
ознаменувати початок) in a permanent cease-fire (режим припинення вогню,
режим тиші) and reduce the U.S. military’s footprint (присутність) from
approximately 13,000 to 8,600 by mid-July. And by May 2021, all foreign forces
would leave the war-torn country.
Trump has previously directed the Pentagon to reduce the U.S. fighting force
in conflict zones. 
In 2018, Trump tweeted that the United States would be withdrawing troops
out of Syria, a move that sent a shockwave (вибухова хвиля) through the
Pentagon and contributed in part to the resignation of then-Defense Secretary
James Mattis. Trump later reversed his decision to withdraw from Syria.
In May, Trump complained on Twitter that America’s role in Afghanistan
has been reduced to a “police force” and not a “fighting force.”
We are acting as a police force, not the fighting force that we are, in
Afghanistan. After 19 years, it is time for them to police their own Country. Bring
our soldiers back home but closely watch what is going on and strike with a
thunder like never before, if necessary!
When asked about the tweet by reporters during a White House event,
Trump said that the U.S. could go back to Afghanistan if needed.
“We can always go back if we have to. If we have to go back, we’ll go back,
and we’ll go back raging (у люті),” Trump said in May.