*WASHINGTON: *President Donald Trump on Thursday said that US troop levelsin Afghanistan will drop to 8,600 if a deal is reached with the Taliban andthat 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 tohave a presence.”
Trump also said that if another attack on the United States originated fromAfghanistan “we would come back with a force like… never before.”
Trump underlined that there was to be no complete withdrawal, keeping aforce that would provide “high intelligence”.
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“You have to keep a presence,” he said. Trump says that troops will only bereduced when the Taliban gives a guarantee that its territory will not beused by al-Qaeda or other international militant groups. -APP/AFP
