US needs wars, conflicts to survive

The United States thrives on wars and military conflicts, says Ohio-based analyst Gordon Duff, arguing that a reported US plan to redeploy troops from Iraq to Afghanistan is an attempt to create new crises.

According to an Associated Press report citing Western contractors in Afghanistan, American forces are leaving Iraq after the defeat of Daesh terror group there and are now taking position in US forces across Afghanistan to allegedly fight the Takfiri group’s sympathizers there.

More than 5,000 US troops had been stationed in Iraq as of 2016, with nearly 4,000 others deployed to the Arab country later on to purportedly assist local groups fighting Daesh.

Speaking to Press TV on Monday, Duff said the US military’s alleged plan for withdrawing troops from Iraq and redeploying them to Afghanistan was “silly” and further proved Washington’s penchant for war.

He said the US was looking to keep the fight going by “playing one side against the other,” just like they did in Iraq.

“Another indication that the US has to keep a permanent war going, ahs to keep things ramped up as much as possible and it has built a foreign policy based on its presence as a military,” he said, citing Afghanistan and some European allies of Washington as an example.

PressTV-US redeploying troops to Afghanistan from Iraq

Western contractors say US troops began the drawdown over the past week, with groups of soldiers leaving the base on daily flights.

“It is always moving troops,” he argued. “This is what the US does, this is US policy, and the US is going to send a military there, it is all the US does anymore,” he concluded.

The report is consistent with US President Donald Trump’s desire to expand the US military buildup in Afghanistan, contrary to his campaign promises to end the years-long occupation that not only has failed to defeat Taliban but has given rise to Daesh-linked groups in the country.

Trump introduced a new Afghanistan strategy in August, hinting at relaxing the rules of engagement, accelerating strikes and other military actions aimed at producing “an honorable and enduring outcome”.

Since he took office, US troop levels in Afghanistan have nearly doubled– from 8,500 in early 2017 to 14,000 today.