U.S. cuts troops in Iraq on Trump pledge to avoid 'endless wars'
10 September, 2020
The U.S. announced a sharp cut Wednesday to troop numbers in Iraq, as President Donald Trump seeks to honor his pledge to halt the country's "endless wars" overseas, with just 8 weeks to go until the election.
The move, reducing the Pentagon's footprint in Iraq from 5,200 military personnel to just 3,000, and an expected parallel announcement on Afghanistan, comes as Trump strives to cast himself as a peacemaker as he fights an uphill battle in which to stay power.
General Kenneth McKenzie, the top of the U.S. military's Central Command, said during a meeting in Baghdad that your choice was "because of our confidence in the Iraqi security forces' increased ability to operate independently."
That could take the U.S. occurrence there to its lowest level since Trump's predecessor Barack Obama cut troops to a token force in 2012 in a previous try to end the then nine-year-old war.
But Obama was forced to reverse course by the rise of the Islamic State group (IS), raising the quantity of troops inside Iraq back over 5,000 as part of an international coalition to combat the jihadists.
Trump has already made some cuts in Iraq, pulling troops back to U.S. bases in the Gulf region in the last year as they faced rocket attacks by Iran-linked Iraqi armed groups.
But, fighting for reelection against Democrat Joe Biden, he has sought to honor his repeated pledge during the 2016 campaign to get rid of U.S. wars abroad and recreate servicemen.
"We kept America out of new wars and we're bringing our troops back, we're bringing them back home from all these faraway places," Trump said in a campaign speech in Winston-Salem, NEW YORK on Tuesday.
"We've spent a huge selection of vast amounts of dollars, and what do we get out of it?" he said, adding: "Biden voted for the Iraq war."
McKenzie said the U.S. could continue supporting the Iraqi military in its fight IS, but said the "ultimate goal" was an Iraq where local forces can independently avoid the extremists from returning.
Trump in addition has pushed hard to pull back U.S. forces from Afghanistan, where they rose to a lot more than 12,000 under his watch to pressure the Taliban and IS.
The quantity fell to about 8,600 in July following a February peace accord with the Taliban and McKenzie has said they could all be gone by May 2021 if the Taliban and the Afghan government reach their own agreement.
But Trump's strain on the Pentagon to more quickly disengage in the Middle East and Afghanistan has strained relations between your White House and U.S. defense chiefs.
Former defense secretary Jim Mattis quit in December 2018 after Trump declared all U.S. troops would leave Syria.
Under Mattis' successor Mark Esper, the Pentagon has remained cautious with hasty withdrawals, cautious that the Taliban would overwhelm Afghan government forces if the U.S. pulls out prematurely.
It has additionally taken account of Iran's influence in Iraq and the center East, that could grow if U.S. forces vacate the spot.
Trump believes pushing ahead with withdrawals could boost his standing among voters fed up with continuing U.S. involvement in conflicts that started out following the September 11, 2001 attacks on america by al-Qaida.
But support for Trump in addition has been eroded by disdainful remarks he has made toward the military.
The other day the Atlantic magazine reported that in 2018 Trump described U.S. Marines buried in a World War I cemetery in France as "losers" and "suckers" so you can get killed in action.
The White House has denied the comments, but the reporter cited multiple first-hand sources, and has been backed up by other publications.
Then on Sunday Trump suggested that the Pentagon leadership supports wars to keep defense contractors running a business.
"I'm not saying the military is deeply in love with me; the soldiers are," Trump said at the White House.
"The top persons in the Pentagon probably aren't, because they would like to do nothing but fight wars in order that all those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy."
Source: japantoday.com