Premature withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan would be ‘strategic mistake’ – US General Milley

A premature withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan would be a strategic mistake, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the country’s top military officer said on Thursday.

“I think pulling out prematurely would be a strategic mistake,” General Mark Milley, currently the army’s chief of staff and nominee to head the joint chiefs of staff, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

Milley believes the war would eventually be brought to an end through a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. He added that there was “some progress” in that effort, Reuters reports.

The US and the Taliban are getting closer to a deal that is expected to be centered on a US promise to withdraw troops in exchange for a Taliban promise not to let Afghanistan be used as a base for terrorism, according to US officials.