Officials say U.S. to withdraw 7,000 troops from Afghanistan

The Pentagon has been ordered to begin planning a reduction of troops in Afghanistan, a senior defense official told CBS News on Thursday.

There are 14,000 troops in the country now, and 7,000 will return home as part of the first phase of the drawdown. On Wednesday, Trump said he intends to pull all U.S. troops from Syria, a move criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike. The United States has had a presence in Afghanistan since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.