Trump: US to keep 8,600 troops in Afghanistan after deal with Taliban

US military advisers from the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade sit at an Afghan National Army base in Maidan Wardak province, Afghanistan. (File/ Reuters)

• Trump also said that if an attack on the United States originated from Afghanistan “we would come back with a force like... never before”

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Thursday said that US troop levels will drop to 8,600 if a peace deal is reached with the Taliban and that a permanent presence will remain.
“We’re going down to 8,600 and then we make a determination from there,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News radio. “We’re always going to have a presence.”
Trump also said that if an attack on the United States originated from Afghanistan “we would come back with a force like... never before.”