NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Tuesday that the military organisation could pay a heavy price for leaving Afghanistan too early, an AP report reads. The warning comes after a US official said President Donald Trump is expected to withdraw a significant number of American troops from Afghanistan in the coming weeks.
The price for leaving the country too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high for the conflict-ridden nation, he added.
Stoltenberg warned that the nation was once again becoming a platform for international terrorists to plan and organize attacks on our homelands.
On October 7 Trump had tweeted, "We should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas!" Currently, there are 4,500 US troops in Afghanistan and 3,000 troops in Iraq.
While the number of troops has been downsized, Trump may fall short of fulfilling his promise to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before he leaves office. "There's no American who does not wish the war in Afghanistan against terrorists and their enablers had already been conclusively won," Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said.
On November 12 and 14, Trump replaced a few key positions in the Pentagon with loyalists who share his frustration with the continued troop presence in the war zones.
