Currently there are approximately 4,500 US troops in Afghanistan and 3,000 troops in Iraq. The US commander in the Middle East announced a drawdown of US troops in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 in September. State Department officials unaware of Pentagon orderO'Brien and US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad are expected to discuss the troop drawdown plans during a meeting Monday, two State Department officials told CNN. State Department officials knew it was possible Trump could order an additional troop drawdown in Afghanistan but did not know that the Pentagon had sent this warning order, two State Department officials said. Some State Department officials believed that because Trump did not order further troop withdraws before the election it was unlikely that there would be more during the rest of his administration.

Source: CNN November 16, 2020 18:53 UTC