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Added on the 12/10/2020 17:41:00 - Copyright : Wochit
The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan will be finalized by the end of next month, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tells reporters at a press briefing in Washington. "We expect it to be completed by the end of August," Psaki says. SOUNDBITE
As far as press conferences go, in and around the White House, it's been mighty quiet ever since the press began referring to Joe Biden as 'President-Elect.' CNN reports while President Donald Trump has played a lot of golf since Election Day, he hasn't answered a single question from the press. Nor has Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, despite the White House's decision to draw down troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, CNN reports White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany showed up to a press briefing on Friday--her first one in seven weeks. In the end, however, she refused to take a question from CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins, calling her an 'activist.' Collins told CNN's Brian Stelter on Sunday that no one wants to speak because Trump's still trying to overturn the election behind the scenes.
The Pentagon has issued a notice to commanders known as a 'warning order.' According to CNN, officials say it's to begin planning to draw down the number of troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 troops and 2,500 in Iraq by Jan 15. US military commanders expect President Donald Trump to issue a formal order to begin further troop withdrawal before Trump leaves office on January 20th. The Pentagon appears ready to remove thousands more US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. However, it also indicates Trump may fall short of fulfilling one of his core promises to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before he leaves office. Multiple top military officials, including former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, said conditions were not yet right for complete troop withdrawal.
Iraqi government forces are "ahead of schedule for this first day" in the U.S.-backed offensive to drive Islamic State from Mosul, according to the Pentagon, but the White House says they anticipate some "deeply unethical and dangerous tactics" from ISIS. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
A Pentagon spokesman says a U.S. trooper was killed and two others wounded in Afghanistan's Helmand province after they came under fire while accompanying Afghan special operations forces. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).