{"id":51537,"date":"2020-10-29T19:40:36","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T19:40:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/29\/trump-has-no-plan-to-exit-afghanistan-by-xmas-key-lawmaker-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:12:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:12:02","slug":"trump-has-no-plan-to-exit-afghanistan-by-xmas-key-lawmaker-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/10\/29\/trump-has-no-plan-to-exit-afghanistan-by-xmas-key-lawmaker-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump has \u2018no plan\u2019 to exit Afghanistan by Christmas, key lawmaker says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 Weeks after the U.S. military was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/10\/08\/taliban-cheer-trump-tweet-promising-early-us-troop-withdrawal-from-afghanistan\/\" target=_blank>blindsided<\/a> by President Donald Trump\u2019s assertion that all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, a top lawmaker on defense says there was no actual plan to withdraw troops by Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith on Thursday echoed U.S. officials who have reportedly said there were not aware of the plan and received no actual order to accelerate the gradual pullout they\u2019ve been executing. The military will continue a gradual pullout, Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think the idea of bringing those numbers down as the president has done makes a lot of sense,\u201d Smith, D-Wash., said at a Center for New American Security webinar. \u201cNow, there\u2019s been sort of a plan to do that, and there\u2019s sort of been a tweet we should get out by Christmas. Well, there\u2019s no plan to get out by Christmas, there\u2019s just not. The White House hasn\u2019t submitted one and the Pentagon doesn\u2019t have one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The topic has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/09\/13\/expect-us-election-to-have-consequences-for-american-troops-overseas\/\" target=_blank>featured in the presidential race<\/a> between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, who have both suggested that America\u2019s longest war needs to end. Biden wants to pull \u201cthe vast majority\u201d of U.S. troops out of Afghanistan while Trump\u2019s second-term agenda would continue to reduce the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Election Day is Nov. 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During his election campaign four years ago, Trump pledged to bring all troops home from \u201cendless wars,\u201d at times triggering pushback from military commanders, defense leaders and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/02\/20\/gop-lawmakers-fret-over-afghanistan-drawdown-plans\/\" target=_blank>even Republican lawmakers<\/a> worried about abruptly abandoning partners on the ground. Trump is responsible for initiating historic peace talks with the Taliban, now proceeding with the Afghan government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a wide-ranging interview about Democratic foreign policy ideas, Smith favored an aggressive drawdown and was confident a combination of partner forces and U.S. intelligence could be used contain the threat of a transnational attack from Afghanistan. The risks of maintaining a military presence, he said, need to be weighed against the costs in blood and treasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you\u2019re waiting until there\u2019s peace in Afghanistan &#8230; that\u2019s not going to happen,\u201d Smith said, adding: \u201cWe\u2019ve been there almost 20 years now. I think it\u2019s pretty clear that our military is not going to solve that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-1225949396-594x594.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-1225949396-594x594.jpg.jpg 594w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gettyimages-1225949396-594x594.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., speaks during a House Armed Services Committee hearing July 9, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by MICHAEL REYNOLDS\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Confusion about the pace of U.S. troop withdrawals from America\u2019s longest war \u2014 an emotional topic for the troops and their families \u2014 began Oct. 7, when Trump tweeted that \u201cwe should have the small remaining number of our BRAVE Men and Women serving in Afghanistan home by Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defense officials have insisted there are no plans to have all troops home from Afghanistan by the holidays or the end of the year. U.S. officials also said earlier this month that there currently is no approved plan to reduce the number to 2,500 by early next year. The officials spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s tweet about Christmas alarmed Pentagon and State Department officials who fear that putting a definitive date on troop withdrawal could undercut negotiations to finalize ongoing peace negotiations between the Taliban and representatives of Afghan society, including the current Afghan government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They also worry that a hasty withdrawal could force the U.S. to leave behind sensitive military equipment. And they continue to stress that the Taliban have still not met requirements to reduce violence against the Afghans, a key element of the U.S. withdrawal plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The topic was the subject of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/10\/11\/milley-ducks-endorsement-of-trumps-afghanistan-exit-timeline\/\" target=_blank>contradictory remarks<\/a> from Trump\u2019s national security adviser Robert O\u2019Brien, who asserted the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan would shrink to 2,500 early next year, and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley subsequently said that the U.S. is executing a plan to reduce the number of troops to 4,500 in November, but talk of any further reduction would be \u201cspeculation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During an online event hosted by the Aspen Institute earlier this month, O\u2019Brien <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2020\/10\/16\/national-security-advisor-despite-trump-tweet-afghanistan-christmas-withdrawal-unlikely\/\" target=_blank>downplayed<\/a> Trump\u2019s tweet as part of a long tradition of leaders who say they would like to have forces back home for the holidays. He insisted however, that the 2,500 number was in play and seemed to swipe at Milley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt has been suggested by some that that\u2019s speculation. I can guarantee you, that\u2019s the plan of the president of the United States,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cThat\u2019s the order of the commander-in-chief. That\u2019s not speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weeks after the U.S. military was blindsided by President Donald Trump\u2019s assertion that all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, a top lawmaker on defense says there was no actual plan to withdraw troops by Christmas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":58439,"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":86,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[29,116,117,15,86],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3431],"class_list":["post-51537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-left-column","category-middle-column","category-news","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"7GFSNZLSMJEG3O6GXZDWUVPR4M","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2020\/10\/29\/trump-has-no-plan-to-exit-afghanistan-by-xmas-key-lawmaker-says\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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