US considers leaving smaller number of troops in Afghanistan

Washington DC: The Pentagon is considering several options to reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan, including one that would shift to a narrower counterterrorism mission, the top US military officer told Congress on Wednesday.

Gen Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not disclose any potential troop totals, but he agreed that leaving a minimal US footprint in Afghanistan to battle terrorists is a potential move.

We have multiple options, that's one of them, he said.

The US currently has about 13,000 troops in Afghanistan. About 5,000 of them are doing counterterrorism missions. The remainder are part of a broader NATO mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces.

Members of the House Armed Services Committee pressed Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper on a number of issues during the hearing, including lawmakers' demands for a hearing on whether the Pentagon deceived the American people about military progress during the 18-year war.

Earlier this week, a Washington Post report disclosed thousands of pages of documents revealing that government officials for years misled the public about failures in the Afghanistan war.

The bottom line is that top military officials and civilian officials had known that the Afghanistan war has been unwinnable and have been misleading the American public for 20 years," said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. He said the committee should hold hearings on the matter.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the committee chairman, said hearings would be appropriate.

I do think it's something that we should take a look at, he said.