Trump hasn’t ordered Pentagon to withdraw troops from Afghanistan

A White House spokesman said Friday that President Trump has not yet ordered the Pentagon to pull troops out of Afghanistan, contradicting reports last week that the president has called for the withdrawal of 7,000 troops.

“The president has not made a determination to drawdown U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and he has not directed the Department of Defense to begin the process of withdrawing U.S. personnel from Afghanistan,” Garrett Marquis, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

The official statement contradicts previous reports published by Bloomberg and various media outlets from unidentified U.S. officials who said the Pentagon was withdrawing around 7,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan.

There are currently more than 14,000 U.S. service members in Afghanistan, primarily to advise and assist Afghan Security Forces in the fight against al Qaeda and other militant groups.

Trump has long railed against the 17-year-old war, the longest military conflict in U.S. history.- Read More

Trump hasn't ordered Pentagon to withdraw troops from Afghanistan ...