The US will soon reduce the number of its military contingent in Afghanistan to 4,000 troops. This was stated by US President Donald Trump in an interview with Axios.

“In the very near future, this number will be reduced. Everything is already planned, - said the American leader. “In the very near future, we will reduce the number of our contingent to 8 thousand people, and then to 4 thousand. Negotiations are underway right now.”

On a clarifying question about the timing of the withdrawal of troops, he noted that this will happen "very soon." However, he refused to name the exact date, noting only that by the presidential elections in the United States, the number of American military contingent in Afghanistan will be from 4 thousand to 5 thousand soldiers.

In addition, Trump has once again criticized the policies of previous American administrations in the Middle East. According to him, the wars launched there by Washington were a mistake.

“In my personal opinion, the decision to go to the Middle East was the biggest mistake in the history of our country,” Trump said.

  • Donald Trump
  • © Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

The journalist of the Axios portal also asked whether the statement of the former commander of the American troops in Afghanistan, John Nicholson, that the Russian Federation allegedly supplies weapons to the radical Taliban movement * was not sufficient reason for retaliatory steps against Russia. Trump said that such reports did not come to him, adding that the United States itself supplied weapons to the militants who fought with the USSR in Afghanistan.

Recall that the topic of Russia's participation in the Afghan conflict began to be actively discussed in the United States after publications in The New York Times. In them, citing "anonymous sources" in the American special services, it was asserted that the Russian intelligence allegedly paid the Taliban money, prompting them to attack US troops. This information was denied by the Russian Foreign Ministry, the US authorities and representatives of the Taliban.

Scheduled exit

Earlier this year, the United States, following lengthy negotiations with the radical Taliban movement, agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. The agreement was enshrined in an agreement that was signed on February 29 in Doha by US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, representing the Taliban.

The agreement specifies the period within which the United States and its allies must leave Afghanistan - 14 months. In this case, the withdrawal of the contingent should be carried out in several stages.

First, the United States, within 4.5 months after the signing of the treaty, must reduce the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan to 8.6 thousand, as well as withdraw troops from five military bases. Pledged to proportionally reduce their contingents and United States allies.

After the completion of this stage and subject to the parties' compliance with the terms of the agreement, preparations will begin for the withdrawal of the units remaining in the country. They will have to leave Afghanistan no later than in 9.5 months.

  • US military aboard a helicopter in Afghanistan
  • Reuters
  • © Omar Sobhani

At the same time, Washington promises to lift sanctions against members of the Taliban, and the Taliban, in turn, pledge to fight Al-Qaeda ** and other terrorist groups in the territories under their control.

In mid-July 2020, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman confirmed the completion of the first phase of the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

“The United States has agreed to reduce its contingent in Afghanistan to 8,600 and leave five bases as stipulated in the agreement. We have fulfilled this commitment. The US contingent continues to number around 8,500, and the five bases formerly occupied by the US military have been transferred to our Afghan partners, ”Hoffman said.

At the same time, the Pentagon stressed that Washington still has the ability to protect the American military deployed in Afghanistan and its national interests. Also, the defense department said that Washington's support for the armed forces of official Kabul will continue.

The Ministry of Defense assured that the United States adheres to its earlier commitments to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

According to Andrey Sidorov, head of the Department of International Organizations and World Political Processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, Trump's announcement about the imminent reduction of the American contingent to 4,000 people was largely designed to attract votes in the presidential elections to be held in the fall.

“This statement is in line with the election campaign. Trump is trying to portray himself as a peacemaker. The American electorate reacts positively to the promise to withdraw American troops from hot spots, so Trump expects that this can bring him additional points, "he said in an interview with RT. 

A similar point of view is shared by HSE professor Dmitry Evstafiev.

“This is an election promise from the previous election campaign, which Trump did not fulfill for a number of reasons. It can be called populist, and it will be supported by most of the American society. In this sense, any criticism of such a decision from the Democrats will play into the hands of Trump, "the analyst said in an interview with RT.

According to experts, the course for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan will remain in any outcome of the US elections.

“Obama also promised to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. And under him, Biden, who is now fighting for the right to become a presidential candidate, was vice president. Therefore, if a democrat wins in these elections, the course of withdrawal from Afghanistan will continue, ”Andrei Sidorov said.

According to him, today the United States does not need Afghanistan, since it does not bring them anything.

“A lot of funds are being received in this region, American troops are being sent, but this does not give the desired result. The negative that Afghanistan brings, especially inside the country, hurts the image of the American authorities, ”the expert explained.

"Manage the energy component"

Note that earlier Trump has repeatedly promised to end the policy of "endless wars" waged by the United States in the Middle East.

So, in June 2020, addressing the graduates of the Military Academy at West Point, he said that the United States did not want to resolve conflicts in foreign countries. According to him, this is not the responsibility of the American military.

“We are reviving the fundamental principles that the task of the American soldier is not to rebuild other states, but to defend - the most decisive defense - of our country from foreign enemies. We are ending the era of endless wars. Instead, we will have a new, sober course to defend vital American interests, ”Trump said.

At the same time, he added that under his leadership, the White House is conducting a "colossal reconstruction" of the American armed forces, for which more than $ 2 trillion has been allocated.

Recall that over the past 20 years, the United States launched several military campaigns in the Middle East at once, which required significant financial costs and the use of hundreds of thousands of American soldiers.

In 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan, calling it a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In 2003, Iraq was the victim of a US attack. This time, the reason for the intervention was reports that Baghdad was allegedly developing weapons of mass destruction. However, this information was not subsequently confirmed.

In addition, the United States was actively involved in the conflicts in Libya and Syria. Since 2001, the US has spent at least $ 6.4 trillion on Middle East wars, according to the American Watson Institute, which was published in November 2019. As a result of American interventions, more than 801 thousand people died, the study notes, among whom at least 335 thousand were civilians. Another 21 million people became internally displaced due to the war.

This data does not include military operations that the United States conducted in the region prior to 2001. For example, in the previous war with Iraq in 1990-1991, the United States involved nearly 700,000 troops.

  • Aftermath of the American Air Force bombing in Iraq, April 1991
  • © US Air Force

The US interest in the Middle East was mainly due to an attempt to control the rich hydrocarbon reserves there, Dmitry Evstafiev believes.

“From a historical point of view, the US presence in the Middle East, which began to grow after the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979 with the participation of the Americans, had its own logic. In particular, it was due to Washington's desire to manage the energy component of globalization. To what extent this logic is not relevant today is difficult to say. Trump believes that it is not relevant, but this does not mean that he is right, ”the analyst says.

According to Andrei Sidorov, under Trump, the United States began to rely on the use of its own energy resources.

“At a certain stage, the Middle East was important for the United States because of oil: the United States bought energy resources abroad, leaving its own resources as a strategic reserve. Trump changed this policy, returning to using his own resources, ”the expert explained.

At the same time, Sidorov emphasizes that the weakening of the military presence in the region does not mean "the complete withdrawal of the Americans."

“Trump wants to reduce his obligations in the Middle East, including financial, military, but at the same time retain all the main levers of control. Reducing commitments while retaining power over key issues, coupled with the transfer of major forces and resources to Asia, will help Trump create a containment perimeter around greater Eurasia. Time will tell whether he will be able to achieve this, ”the political scientist concluded.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02.14.2003.

** "Al-Qaeda" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02.14.2003.