The US will reduce its contingent in Afghanistan from 8,600 to 4,500 people by November. This was stated by the head of the Central command of the US armed forces, General Kenneth McKenzie, in a published interview with Voice of America radio, Defense One and The New York Times.
"By November, the end of October-November, we will approach the mark of 4.5 thousand [military personnel in Afghanistan], " said the head of the command, whose area of operational responsibility includes primarily the Middle East.
He added that 4,500 American troops will be able to perform all the necessary tasks in Afghanistan.
According to the General, the United States "has demonstrated that it does not want to be an occupying force in this country." "We have strategic interests, vital interests that make us confident that such [terrorist] groups as al-Qaeda and ISIS ("Islamic state"; both are banned in the Russian Federation-ed. TASS), can't be there and attack the United States, " McKenzie added.
In July, he said that for the withdrawal of troops, it was necessary to start an inter-Afghan dialogue, and the United States should be sure that neither the radical Taliban movement (banned in Russia), nor ISIS, nor al-Qaeda is activated in the Republic. When asked what has changed in a couple of months, the General admitted that the Taliban "have not yet demonstrated convincingly that they are going to break with al-Qaeda and" continue to attack the Afghan security forces."
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS