{"id":21697,"date":"2020-05-27T23:33:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T23:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/27\/secdef-not-confident-in-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-before-election\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:02:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:02:36","slug":"secdef-not-confident-in-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-before-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/05\/27\/secdef-not-confident-in-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-before-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Esper not confident in Afghanistan troop withdrawal before election"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Though the Pentagon<\/a> is reportedly preparing an Afghanistan withdrawal scenario that would see more than 8,000 troops brought back stateside by early November, Defense Secretary Mark Esper <\/a>said Wednesday that it\u2019s only one option \u2015 and not a particularly strong one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan is still to bring troop levels down to 8,600 by July, Esper said, but any plan to pull out the remainder by the presidential election \u2015 as cited in a Tuesday report by the New York Times<\/a> \u2015 does not seem likely at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s proven not to move as quickly as we\u2019d prefer,\u201d he said on a trip back from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, when asked if it could be done in six months. \u201cI don\u2019t put a timeline on it. We have a timeline of May of next year but that timeline was premised on everything moving at a set pace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a surge of troops on the ground following his inauguration, President Donald Trump has made the Afghan withdrawal a centerpiece of his foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have proceeded in fits and starts.<\/p>\n\n\n