U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is reviewing former U.S. President Donald Trump’s last-minute withdrawal plan for U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.
This was written by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, citing sources in the U.S. Defense Department.
President Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, faces a number of problems in the U.S. and around the world, but Donald Trump’s decision to quickly withdraw more than 3,000 troops from the two conflict zones before leaving office this month confronts the White House as it considers how to manage the long-running wars.
U.S. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby, speaking to The Wall Street Journal, said any decision on the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan would be discussed with the governments of both countries.
On Jan. 15, 2021, the Pentagon had announced that U.S. troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan had been reduced by 2,500 troops each.
This comes while a great many Iraqis and Iraqi groups are calling for the withdrawal of U.S. terrorist troops from Iraq and the Iraqi parliament has also passed a bill to this effect.
by Jeremy Abbott – American Correspondent – WPN