Acting U.S. Defense Secretary makes first statement in office: “It’s time for U.S. troops in the Middle East to come home!”

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller on Friday (14) set out to implement U.S. President Donald Trump’s ideas, notifying that U.S. troops in the Middle East would be withdrawn and that the United States would take a back seat in the war. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is rumored to have argued that disarmament would threaten the security of U.S. troops there.

According to Fox News, “All wars must end,” Miller said in a memo issued to the entire Defense Department, “Ending wars requires compromise and partnership. When the challenge comes, we’ve done our best, and now it’s time to come home. To all of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, sea, land, coast guard, space experts and civilians: remain fearless and together we will take the entire nation to new heights.”

Miller said the U.S. is at a critical stage in stepping down from a leadership role to a support role, and the Pentagon has begun a plan this month to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to 5,000.