(CNN) – Then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper sent a classified memo earlier this month to the White House asserting that it was the unanimous recommendation of the chain of command that the US not draw down its troop presence in Afghanistan any further until conditions were met, sources familiar with the memo tell CNN.
The assessment from the chain of command — Esper, US Central Command leader Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie and commander of NATO’s mission in Afghanistan Gen. Austin Miller — stated that the necessary conditions had not been met. Others agreed, sources tell CNN, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
The memo is believed to have been one of the main reasons why outgoing President Donald Trump fired Esper last week. CNN reported on Monday that US military commanders are anticipating that Trump will give a formal order as soon as this week to begin a further withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq before he leaves office on January 20. The memo was first reported by The Washington Post.
A senior administration source said the Esper memo expressed concerns that further reductions with conditions unmet could alienate US allies, who currently provide more service members in Afghanistan than the US.; risk “Green-on-Blue” attacks on American service members by anxious Afghan soldiers; erode the credibility and standing of the US around the world; impact the Afghan military, which relies on US “enablers” such as logistics and air support; and, perhaps most importantly, undermine efforts to get the Taliban to live up to their end of the peace agreement.
Officials at both the State Department and the Pentagon, according to this source, questioned why the Taliban would continue negotiating a peaceful end to the conflict with the US leaving anyway.
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New from me: Esper memo warned conditions weren't met for withdrawal from Afghanistanhttps://t.co/JL2XulgxV6
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 16, 2020
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