US to cut troops in Afghanistan and Iran by January 2021

US Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller at the Pentagon on November 13, 2020. AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta

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The United States will reduce the number of its troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 in January 2021, the smallest American contingent in two decades of war, and 500 other soldiers will leave Iraq announced this Tuesday, November 17, the Pentagon.

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About 2,000 troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by January 15, and 500 more will leave Iraq leaving only 2,500 troops in each country, new acting defense minister Christopher Miller said.

The withdrawal will come as Donald Trump, defeated in the presidential election by Democrat Joe Biden, cedes power on January 20.

This decision reflects the wish of the American president " 

 " he said.

Before the Pentagon's announcement, several US and foreign officials warned against a hasty and total withdrawal that would favor extremist groups like al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.

The leader of the Republican majority in the Senate Mitch McConnell had estimated Monday that the United States would " 

 " its allies by withdrawing too quickly.

For NATO, Afghanistan could "once 

 ".

Since the launch of the military offensives in Afghanistan in 2001 and then in Iraq two years later, more than 6,900 American soldiers have died and more than 52,000 have been wounded in these two theaters of war, according to the Pentagon.

Peace talks are underway between

following an agreement between Washington and the insurgents that confirms the withdrawal of American forces by mid-2021.

(With AFP)

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• United States

• Afghanistan

• Iraq

• Defense