Thread by @DefenseBaron

Pompeo, in his Fox interview, made a few interesting statements on Afghanistan. 1) after the wedding attack, simply said US will continue to "decimate" "radical Islamic terrorism" "in a way that is smart and doesn’t require excess sacrifice on behalf of the American people." /1

That's a sensible balance, more than "end forever wars," signaling under Trump the US is not completely withdrawing from anywhere. and 2) Pompeo stated Trump's goal clear: reduce cost (money and lives) but ensure a posture that can reduce homeland attacks from Afgh. 2/

"Those twin goals are what the President set out for my team and for the Department of Defense. We’re working towards them. I am confident that we can achieve them." /3

"Any reduction that we make will be based on CONDITIONS ON THE GROUND and will be consistent with achieving those two goals on behalf of the President and on behalf of the American people." /4

So, us media when apeshit over Pompeo casually blurting that Trump wants the US to reduce forces in Afgh before the next election and about timelines... but really not much has changed. The US is ALWAYS looking to reduce forces based on "conditions on the ground." /5

We'll keep watching. Conditions of fighting are diff than conditions for peace talks, and there are so many factors. It's complicated (SEE BELOW). It's definitely more complicated than "end forever wars" security policy half a dozen 2020 Dems are selling right now. /6

Read all of @DefenseOne‘s #Afghanistan coverage here. Your nation is at war all over the world. Understand why. //
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