Trump administration planning to drawn down troops in Afghanistan and Iraq

The outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump is planning to cut the number of American troops deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a report.  

A US official confirmed the Trump administration’s plan of troop drawdown on Monday to National Public Radio (MPR), which is an American media organization based in Washington, DC.

The news comes after a change of leadership at the Pentagon, where Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was fired by Trump last week.

Esper was reportedly against the troop drawdown from Afghanistan. According to CNN, he sent a classified memo earlier this month to the White House asserting that it was the unanimous recommendation of the chain of military command that the US not draw down its troop presence in Afghanistan.

The assessment from the chain of command -- Esper, US Central Command leader Marine Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie and commander of NATO's mission in Afghanistan Gen. Austin Miller -- claimed that the necessary conditions had not been met, sources familiar with the memo told CNN on Monday.

Trump wrote in a Twitter post on November 9 that Esper had been “terminated.”

NPR's Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman reported on Monday that “there's been a verbal order from the White House to cut the number of troops in Afghanistan from about 4,500 to 2,500 by January. The cut in Iraq would drop the level from about 3,000 troops to 2,500. A formal order is expected this week and could come as early as tomorrow.”

US military commanders are anticipating that a formal order will be given by Trump this week to begin a further withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, two US officials familiar with the issue told CNN.

The correspondent said Esper was “terminated” because “he was not favoring any more troop cuts, and he was seen as not carrying out the president's wishes.”

MG