<p>Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday he wants to reduce the number of US troops in Afghanistan "with or without" a peace agreement in order to give higher priority to strategic competition with China.</p>.<p>The Trump administration is expected to announce plans to withdraw around 4,000 troops from Afghanistan, according to US media, after peace talks resumed a week ago between the US and the Taliban.</p>.<p>Esper told reporters Monday that Austin Miller, the head of the NATO mission and US Forces Afghanistan, "is confident that he can go down to a lower number" of troops.</p>.<p>Miller "believes he can conduct all the important counter-terrorism missions and train, advise and assist" the Afghan army, Esper said on a plane as he flew back from Belgium, where he had attended the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.</p>.<p>"I would like to go to a lower number because I want to either bring those troops home" to retrain for new missions or to "be redeployed to the Indo-Pacific to face off our greatest challenge in terms of the great power competition that's vis-a-vis China," he said.</p>.<p>"At the end of the day, the best solution for Afghanistan is a political agreement" between the government and the Taliban, Esper added.</p>.<p>"But I think we can go down with or without that political agreement."</p>.<p>Esper said he had not yet ordered any downsizing, noting that the decision was ultimately the responsibility of President Donald Trump.</p>.<p>About 13,000 US troops are currently in Afghanistan, though the number fluctuates according to rotations.</p>.<p>Trump said last month that he planned to cut the overall troop presence to 8,600, with further reductions possible.</p>.<p>He also in November insisted on the need for a ceasefire and made an unannounced visit to Bagram airbase in Afghanistan to celebrate Thanksgiving with troops and meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.</p>.<p>The Republican president has previously indicated he wants to wind down US military entanglements abroad where possible.</p>
<p>Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday he wants to reduce the number of US troops in Afghanistan "with or without" a peace agreement in order to give higher priority to strategic competition with China.</p>.<p>The Trump administration is expected to announce plans to withdraw around 4,000 troops from Afghanistan, according to US media, after peace talks resumed a week ago between the US and the Taliban.</p>.<p>Esper told reporters Monday that Austin Miller, the head of the NATO mission and US Forces Afghanistan, "is confident that he can go down to a lower number" of troops.</p>.<p>Miller "believes he can conduct all the important counter-terrorism missions and train, advise and assist" the Afghan army, Esper said on a plane as he flew back from Belgium, where he had attended the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.</p>.<p>"I would like to go to a lower number because I want to either bring those troops home" to retrain for new missions or to "be redeployed to the Indo-Pacific to face off our greatest challenge in terms of the great power competition that's vis-a-vis China," he said.</p>.<p>"At the end of the day, the best solution for Afghanistan is a political agreement" between the government and the Taliban, Esper added.</p>.<p>"But I think we can go down with or without that political agreement."</p>.<p>Esper said he had not yet ordered any downsizing, noting that the decision was ultimately the responsibility of President Donald Trump.</p>.<p>About 13,000 US troops are currently in Afghanistan, though the number fluctuates according to rotations.</p>.<p>Trump said last month that he planned to cut the overall troop presence to 8,600, with further reductions possible.</p>.<p>He also in November insisted on the need for a ceasefire and made an unannounced visit to Bagram airbase in Afghanistan to celebrate Thanksgiving with troops and meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.</p>.<p>The Republican president has previously indicated he wants to wind down US military entanglements abroad where possible.</p>