9/9/2020 9:10
{International: Ayna News}
A US administration official said that President Donald Trump will announce today, Wednesday, an additional reduction in the number of US forces in Iraq.
Trump will also announce, according to the official, in the coming days, a reduction in the number of US forces in Afghanistan.
Trump had informed Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi during the latter's visit to Washington last month that the United States sought to reduce the number of US forces in Iraq and his commitment to the rapid exit of the international coalition forces within 3 years.
On August 12, General Kenneth Mackenzie Jr., Commander in Chief of the US Central Command in the Pentagon, expected that Washington would reduce its forces in Iraq and Syria, probably in the coming months, and maintain a long-term presence of US forces in Iraq, to help fight terrorism.
He refused to disclose the size of this presence, but other US officials said that discussions with Iraqi officials could lead to a reduction in the number of forces to about 3,500 out of more than 5,000 soldiers.
And Washington had announced that it would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to about 5,000, instead of 8,600, and Trump also issued orders to withdraw about 12,000 soldiers from Germany, about 6,400 of them will return to the United States, and about 5,600 of them will go to other European countries.
alliraqnews.com
