nuous engagement, there needs to be a new course of action that will fulfill the U.S commitment to Afghanistan’s reconstruction and alleviate the U. S’s involvement. To do this, the current administration has three possible options:

1. Maintain the status quo (decrease military presence and sign peace deal); or
2. Reallocate resources on more impactful reconstruction initiatives.

Analysis

Since President Trump was elected to office, his policy toward Afghanistan shifted from increasing the forces to decreasing military forces13, with a long-term goal to abandon Afghanistan altogether14. In December 2018, Trump ordered the Pentagon to “withdraw nearly half of the 14,000 troops”15. While this “status quo” situation would eventually result in an expedient removal of U.S. forces, it neglects to consider the short-term impact of decreasing the military capabilities in Afghanistan. A crucial component driving the conflict is overlooked with this strategy, the governance and politics in Afghanistan. The dysfunctional political climate in Afghanistan has resulted in mass migrations of people out of the country, violence against civilians, and corruption in the governing bodies.

With decreased U.S. forces, it is believed that Afghanistan will “plunge the country further into chaos”16 and breed more anti-American terrorists. Additionally, security has become a larger concern in recent years which would require more U.S. military personnel to increase defenses against Afghan neighbors Pakistan, Iran and Russia. Though this approach saves millions of U.S. dollars, it does not guarantee cooperation from the Islamic State. The removal of the troops is a result of demands made by the Taliban to negotiate a peace deal with the United States17 removing some of the leverage American diplomats have established over the years. Though the Taliban have indicated that the withdrawal of foreign troops is a nonnegotiable demand, they still preferred to keep some foreign presence because of the ongoing threat of attacks from other Islamic groups18.

Officials warned the President that removing 7,000 troops would result in negative consequences by giving the extremist groups a space to plan against the U.S. and its allies. Army General Austin Miller, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has expressed that the continued mission in Afghanistan is crucial to protecting U.S. security19. Additionally, removing half of the armed force from Afghanistan could be dangerous if the remaining troop