(NEWSMAX) Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller is suggesting he will ramp up withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the Middle East in the next few weeks, writing in a memo, “All wars must end.”
Miller, a former U.S. special forces officer and counterterrorism expert, stepped in as Pentagon chief after President Donald Trump axed Mark Esper.
“Ending wars requires compromise and partnership,” Miller wrote in a memo posted by The Hill. “We met the challenge; We gave it our all. Now it’s time to come home.”
His memo, however, said the United States remained committed to “finishing the war that al-Qaida brought to our shores in 2001,” referring to the 9/11 attacks.
“We are on the verge of defeating al-Qaida and its associates, but we must avoid our past strategic error of failing to see the fight through to the finish,” he continued. “Indeed, this fight has been long, our sacrifices have been enormous, and many are weary of war – I’m one of them.”
The acting Pentagon chief added “this is the critical phase in which we transition our efforts from a leadership to supporting role.”
“We are not a people of perpetual war – it is the antithesis of everything for which we stand and for which our ancestors fought,” Miller wrote. “All wars must end.”
There are fewer than 10 weeks for a Trump administration to withdraw troops before a potential Joe Biden administration would takes office Jan. 20.
The memo comes in the wake of The Washington Post report of Esper’s classified memo to the White House that warned against any further troop drawdown.
Miller asserted Friday the military “remains strong” despite the leadership shakeup at the Pentagon.
