Pentagon Chief Confirms Trump’s Plan for US Military Reduction in Afghanistan, Iraq

U.S. Army and Afghan commando forces at a checkpoint in the eastern province of Nangarhar, Afghanistan, on July 7, 2018. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

Acting Department of Defense Secretary Christopher Miller on Tuesday confirmed that he will draw down American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to about 2,500 each, saying that it’s designed to reduce the “heavy burden of perpetual war” on future generations.

“I am formally announcing that we will implement President Trump’s orders to continue our repositioning of forces from those two countries,” he said in a news conference at the Pentagon. “I celebrate this day.” The move to draw down troops, Miller said, is due to the president’s “bold leadership.”