United States pullout 33000 surge troops from Afghanistan

21.09.2012 [11:57]
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Baku, September 21 (AZERTAC). Nearly two years after President Barack Obama ordered 33,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to tamp down the escalating Taliban violence, the last of those surge troops have left the country, U.S. officials said Thursday.

That still leaves about 68,000 American troops still in the nation, as was the case in late 2008. And violence continues to rage in parts of Afghanistan, including numerous high-profile “green-on-blue” attacks of late in which men dressed in Afghan police and military uniforms open fire on other Afghan security officers and coalition forces.

The withdrawal, which began in July, follows an unprecedented number of NATO soldiers being shot dead by their Afghan colleagues — 51 so far this year — and comes as anti-Western protests sweep Muslim countries.

A phased withdrawal plan was developed where 10,000 troops would leave Afghanistan by July 2011 and the remaining 23,000 would leave Afghanistan by the end of September 2012.

United States pullout 33000 surge troops from Afghanistan

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