Two-time Pentagon chief had a storied career in government under four presidents, but his vision of a modern US military was unraveled by the long and costly war in the Middle East

US takes calculated risk that adversarial forces in war-torn country can still be countered and that he won’t be remembered as president who underestimated their resilience

President says the 2001 terror attacks can't justify the continued presence of soldiers in the country after 20 years of conflict

New administration defies Trump timetable, sets 20th anniversary of 2001 terrorist attacks as homecoming for 2,500 remaining soldiers

Trump administration moves to fulfill president's pledge to withdraw soldiers from overseas, as Republicans, US allies, senior military leaders voice opposition to pullout

Cuts, which come after shake-up at Pentagon and installation of loyalists, would be completed just five days before Biden takes office

Some local authorities say Husam Abd al-Rauf shot dead during raid on Taliban outpost last week, providing few details; incident complicates US efforts to withdraw from country

Discussions are latest in a flurry of diplomatic activity by the Trump administration ahead of the US presidential election in November

US president tells PM al-Kadhemi American soldiers will leave Iraq, but gives no timetable

News comes as Pompeo, Esper meet with Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani; could lead to withdrawals of American troops