Trump to sign executive order for 'further troop withdrawal' from Afghanistan, Iraq

US President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration is expected to further decrease the number of Ameican troops in Afghanistan almost in half to 2,500 by January 15, a US official reportedly said on November 16. As per CNN report, the Pentagon has sent a notice to its commanders also known as the “warning order” to initiate the planning process of the withdrawal of hundreds of troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq just five days before the Inauguration Day on January 20 when 46th US President-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in.

Currently, there are nearly 4,500 US military commanders in Afghanistan and 3,000 in Iraq, but the latest move calling for drawdown indicates that the Trump administration is willing to remove thousands of troops from both countries. This also came in the backdrop of Trump saying earlier this year that he wants all American soldiers “home” by Christmas, that is December 25. On October 7 Trump tweeted: “We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!”

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Final achievements of Trump

From taking credit of SpaceX-NASA launch to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine development, the outgoing Trump administration has tried to bag as many positive outcomes in the US as it can even after Biden has been declared as the winner in US Election 2020. While refusing to graciously concede, the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq would give the irked 45th US President a sense of accomplishment in the final weeks at the White House by fulfilling his promise. 

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As per the ANI report, the US official also said that the military leaders were informed about the further reduction of the military in foreign nations over the weekend. Moreover, an executive order is currently in the process but has not her been delivered to the commanders. The official reportedly spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal internal deliberations. 

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