The US has announced to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 each by January 15 next year, which drew sharp reaction from influential lawmakers across the aisle.
바카라 웹사이트The decision announced by Acting US Defence Secretary Christopher C Miller on Tuesday is in line with incumbent President Donald Trump's campaign promise to bring the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to a successful and responsible conclusion and to bring service members home.
바카라 웹사이트The move was immediately opposed by the Opposition Democratic Party of the President-elect Joe Biden, whose lawmakers described it as a threat to national security. Several Republican lawmakers too opposed the move.
바카라 웹사이트“I am formally announcing that we will implement President Trump's orders to continue our repositioning of forces from those two countries. By January 15, 2021, our forces, their size in Afghanistan will be 2,500 troops. Our force size in Iraq will also be 2,500 by that same date,” Miller said during a press conference, adding that this is consistent with the Trump administration's established plans and strategic objectives.
바카라 웹사이트The US currently has a little over 4,500 troops in Afghanistan.
바카라 웹사이트In a brief interaction with reporters at the White House, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said the remaining troops would be defending US diplomats and facilities.
바카라 웹사이트"By May, it is President Trump's hope that they will come home safely and, in their entirety," he said.
바카라 웹사이트Miller said that this decision by the president is based on continuous engagement with his national security Cabinet over the past several months, including ongoing discussions with him and his colleagues across the United States government.
바카라 웹사이트The transition team of Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris did not immediately respond to a question on the announcement on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Top Democratic lawmakers, however, were quick to slam it.
바카라 웹사이트“The Trump policy has been so erratic, almost based on whim, what happens when the president rolls out of bed each morning and how he feels,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters at the Capitol Hill.
바카라 웹사이트Senator Tammy Duckworth said that this is the wrong way to do, as it will leave behind a huge amount of American military hardware for the Taliban to use.
바카라 웹사이트Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that it is extremely important in the next couple of months not to have any earthshaking changes in defence and foreign policy.
바카라 웹사이트“A precipitous drawdown in either Afghanistan or Iraq would be a mistake,” he said.
바카라 웹사이트Republican senator Mitt Romney urged the Trump administration to reconsider and reverse this “politically-motivated” decision and avoid worsening America라이브 바카라 national security challenges.
바카라 웹사이트“In Afghanistan, if we want to continue to move forward with a peace discussion with the Taliban, I think we have to have a presence. And if we want to have any chance of enforcing a peace agreement that involves the Taliban, we have to have a presence,” said senator Roy Blunt.
바카라 웹사이트Senator Jim Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that he looks forward to receiving detailed briefings on the plan from the Pentagon and the commander on the ground.
바카라 웹사이트“As we evaluate the situation in Afghanistan and coordinate with our allies, we must ensure that our strategy and posture reflect the conditions on the ground,” he said.
바카라 웹사이트Inhofe said that Trump라이브 바카라 South Asia strategy has been extremely successful, and his administration has scored major counterterrorism wins across the region, including taking out terrorist henchmen al-Baghdadi, Soleimani and al-Rimi.
바카라 웹사이트House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that the announcement is a hasty move intended to undermine the incoming Biden administration.
바카라 웹사이트“It ought to surprise no one that this comes just days after President Trump fired top Pentagon officials who stood against his counterproductive plans,” he alleged.
바카라 웹사이트Senator Dianne Feinstein alleged that Trump라이브 바카라 last-minute foreign policy moves are threatening national security and could have lasting effects well beyond his final months in office.
바카라 웹사이트“This is especially worrying as the president continues to obstruct a peaceful, timely transition from his administration to President-elect Biden라이브 바카라,” she said.
바카라 웹사이트Republican senator Josh Hawley welcomed the move, saying that American people deserve an end to this war.
바카라 웹사이트Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee announced a hearing on Afghanistan on November 20.
바카라 웹사이트Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, urged the Trump administration to carefully reconsider any decision to hastily withdraw US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq and to bear in mind the rule of law, US security and the sanctity of US alliances.
바카라 웹사이트“We cannot allow these countries to, yet again, become a safe haven for terrorists looking to do Americans harm. Further, we cannot leave NATO and our partners in the dark. Any withdrawal must be conditions-based. Congress passed existing laws to ensure that any withdrawal going forward is not based on arbitrary timelines or political considerations,” he said.
바카라 웹사이트“The war in Afghanistan must end. Americans have carried the burden and suffered the costs of this war for two decades. We must do so in a deliberate way that both protects our troops and keeps faith with the allies that came to our aid after 9/11 and still serve with us to this day,” Democratic Congressman Jason Crow said.바카라 웹사이트
