In the wake of the publication of government documents that reveal a legacy of lies and failure surrounding the United States’ 18-year ongoing war in Afghanistan, President Donald Trump is preparing to announce that the nation will withdraw 4,000 American troops from the country.
The pullout would cut the presence of American troops in the troubled Central Asian nation by a third, from approximately 12,000 to 8,000.
NBC News reported on the development on Saturday night. It’s unclear if the development is directly linked to the revelation of the damning documents on the Afghanistan War earlier this week, but the timing seems to imply it’s probably not a coincidence.
The documents, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, expose a consistent track record of senior military and civilian authorities overstating U.S progress in deterring and combating the Afghan Taliban. American gains are almost immediately washed away as soon as troops depart from Taliban-infested regions of the country, even after an 18-year presence.
A drawdown of the military presence in Afghanistan would represent a turnaround for the Trump administration and a return to the America First principles the President proposed as a candidate in 2016. Trump had earlier been convinced to buff up the American military presence in Afghanistan.
It’s well past time for the war in Afghanistan- which is now by far the longest conflict to have occurred in American history- to be brought to a conclusion. A troop drawdown is a step in the right direction, but the ultimate goal for America First patriots should be to bring home every American service member from the eternally troubled and unstable distant nation.