US Troops 'On Path' To Stay in Afghanistan Past Christmas, Despite Trump's Tweet - O'Brien

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2020) US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said on Friday that American troops are "on path" to remain in Afghanistan into early next year, despite President Donald Trump's tweet that they will be out by this Christmas.

"If these intra-Afghan negotiations could work out well, there would be nothing greater than have our troops home by Christmas, but right now we are on a path ... that looks like about 4,500 this fall and a smaller number in January-February," O'Brien said in an event with the Aspen Security Forum.

He called Trump's tweet an expression of a desire shared by all American presidents since the Revolutionary War to have troops home by Christmas.

"If the conditions permitted, look, we would love to get people out earlier.

I think that's the desire that the president was addressing," O'Brien said. "We would like the troops out as soon as possible, we need to get out of Afghanistan."

After US reached the deal with the Taliban opposition movement in February, the number of its troops in Afghanistan was drawn down to 8,600 in July and another 4,000 troops are expected to leave in the fall. O'Brien used to say that by early next year the contingent may by reduced to 2,500 servicemen. According to Pentagon officials, the United States is conducting "prudent planning" to withdraw all its military forces from Afghanistan by May 2021, though no specific orders have been issued so far.