President Trump isn't committing to a full withdrawal from Afghanistan anytime soon.
In a Thursday interview with Fox News' Brian Kilmeade, Trump said the U.S. is reducing its troops in Afghanistan "down to 8,600," but guaranteed the U.S. is "always going to have a presence" in the country. It comes as the U.S. and the Taliban reportedly near a deal to remove up to 6,000 American troops — though America never promised a full withdrawal from the country.
On Wednesday, the Taliban announced it was close to reaching an agreement mandating "U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a pledge that the country would not become a haven for other Islamist militant groups," Reuters writes. But Trump isn't committing to a full withdrawal because, as he put it to Kilmeade, "it's an amazing area for terrorism." Trump also said that if the Taliban broke the terms of that deal, U.S. forces would return "like never before."
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As CNN's Kaitlan Collins pointed out, Thursday's remarks contrast from how Trump told Fox News' Tucker Carlson in July about there were "about 9,000" troops left in Afghanistan. Trump upped that number to "probably 13,000" in mid-August, but also said he hoped to send most of those troops home before the 2020 election. Like his Thursday comments, Trump did say at that time that a "very significant" intelligence presence would remain in Afghanistan.
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