He reinforced early withdrawal plans Thursday morning, in a Fox Business Channel interview that understated the number of troops currently in Afghanistan. Donald Trump's comments on the planned U.S. troop presence did not fully align with those made the same day by White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien, pictured Tuesday in Salt Lake City. "Ultimately, the Afghans themselves are going to have to work out an accord, a peace agreement.… It's going to be slow progress. America's exit from Afghanistan after 19 years was laid out in an agreement Washington reached with the Taliban in February. He previously had publicly announced American troop strength without vetting by the Pentagon, which has not yet responded to Trump's tweet.

Source: CBC News October 08, 2020 15:15 UTC