{"id":47352,"date":"2018-12-01T20:33:56","date_gmt":"2018-12-01T20:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:18:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:18:34","slug":"mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SIMI VALLEY, Calif. \u2014 Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he is focused on finding an end to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/11\/28\/trump-defends-staying-in-afghanistan-after-troop-deaths\/\" target=\"_blank\">the war in Afghanistan<\/a>, but that doesn\u2019t involve withdrawing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/11\/27\/three-us-troops-killed-three-others-wounded-in-ied-blast-in-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. military forces<\/a> from the country soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are going to stand with the 41 nations, largest wartime coalition in history, who are still committed to this effort,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/09\/18\/mattis-i-dont-think-about-leaving-i-love-it-here\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mattis<\/a> said at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/reagan-defense-forum\/\" target=\"_blank\">Reagan National Defense Forum<\/a> here on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe Taliban have made clear the lives of the Afghan people are of no value to them. They can\u2019t win at the ballot box, so they are trying to terrorize instead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/11\/28\/trump-defends-staying-in-afghanistan-after-troop-deaths\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18319633077023.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump defends staying in Afghanistan after troop deaths<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The president offered no timetable for ongoing negotiations with Taliban groups and Afghan officials.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis\u2019 comments come just days after President Donald Trump issued similar support for the continued U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, now into its 18th year. About 16,000 U.S. troops are currently deployed in Afghanistan in training and counterterrorism roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Four U.S. service members have been killed in the country in the last week and 13 since the start of the year. More than 2,400 U.S. military personnel have died since the initial invasion of American forces in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis said he has no doubts of the importance of keeping those troops in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we leave, with 20-odd of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world centered in that region, we know what will happen,\u201d he said. \u201cOur intelligence is very specific. We will be under attack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He praised Trump\u2019s decision to increase U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan last year, and said that \u201cfor the first time in 17 years, the U.N. believes we have hope for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/12\/01\/survey-finds-strong-support-for-military-members-less-support-for-military-funding\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4932339.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Survey finds strong support for military members, less support for military funding<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">More than 90 percent of individuals surveyed said they have confidence in the armed forces.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis said the Defense Department is \u201cgoing to do our level best to drive to a political resolution\u201d and that finding ways to broker a peace deal presents the most realistic path to ending the conflict there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But he also criticized the Taliban\u2019s commitment to that reconciliation, and said it can\u2019t be solely a U.S. effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is going to take regional help. It\u2019s going to take UN help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump earlier in the week said he is cautiously optimistic about the potential for an end to the conflict, but added that the situation remains \u201ca little bit too early to say what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis in his speech also praised young military recruits, noting that \u201cthey\u2019ve grown up with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and they choose to serve anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/reagan-defense-forum\/\"><b>Visit Defense News&#8217; Reagan National Defense Forum site for full coverage of the event. <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The defense secretary said if U.S. forces leave today, it will mean new attacks on the American homeland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":102382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,160,29,162,36,19,95],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3424],"class_list":["post-47352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-digital-show-daily","category-newsletters","category-pentagon","category-reagan-defense-forum"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UQUDN52LABEHRPGGEN5QZET6ZY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The defense secretary said if U.S. forces leave today, it will mean new attacks on the American homeland.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The defense secretary said if U.S. forces leave today, it will mean new attacks on the American homeland.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-12-01T20:33:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T14:18:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-12-01T20:33:56+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T14:18:34+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 424,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Congress\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Digital Show Dailies\",\n\t                \"Digital Show Daily\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Pentagon\",\n\t                \"Reagan Defense Forum\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2018-12-01T20:33:56+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T14:18:34+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The defense secretary said if U.S. forces leave today, it will mean new attacks on the American homeland.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2018\\\/12\\\/01\\\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Congress\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"congress\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns - Defense News","description":"The defense secretary said if U.S. forces leave today, it will mean new attacks on the American homeland.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns","og_description":"The defense secretary said if U.S. forces leave today, it will mean new attacks on the American homeland.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2018-12-01T20:33:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T14:18:34+00:00","author":"Leo Shane III","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leo Shane III","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns","datePublished":"2018-12-01T20:33:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T14:18:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/"},"wordCount":424,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Congress","Daily News Roundup","Digital Show Dailies","Digital Show Daily","Newsletters","Pentagon","Reagan Defense Forum"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/","name":"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-12-01T20:33:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T14:18:34+00:00","description":"The defense secretary said if U.S. forces leave today, it will mean new attacks on the American homeland.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/12\/01\/mattis-sees-progress-in-afghanistan-but-no-plans-for-troop-drawdowns\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Congress","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/","ad_zone":"congress"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Mattis sees progress in Afghanistan, but no plans for troop drawdowns"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18290196551471.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47355,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47352\/revisions\/47355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47352"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=47352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}