NATO Forces Now Outnumber U.S Troops in Afghanistan

As the United States Military scrambles to meet the mid-January deadline to reduce troop numbers in Afghanistan down to 2500, a major milestone would be achieved, as the combined NATO troop presence in the country outnumbers that of the United States; for the first time in the history of the conflict.

As of February 2020, nearly 13,000 American troops were deployed to Afghanistan, after the United States (under the Trump Administration) inked a landmark agreement with the Taliban to withdraw all forces over the course of 14 months, if the conditions of the deal were met.

As of yet, there are nearly 4000 American troops deployed in Afghanistan, while a multi-lateral contingent of NATO troops numbering 11,000 (from several nations including the United States) remain in the country.

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, expressed his concerns with the Trump Administration's withdrawal plan, stating that the Taliban had not fully committed to keeping their end of the bargain, and could potentially regress in the absence of the United States' military presence.

He stated that "As you know, the United States has announced that it will reduce its presence in Afghanistan. But the NATO mission will remain [...] and we will continue to provide support to Afghan security forces".

With an additional 1500 American troops expected to be withdrawn from Afghanistan in the foreseeable future (in a matter of weeks), Gen. Scott Miller, commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and NATO's Resolute Support Mission, felt confident in the military's ability to meet the set deadline.