The Pentagon announced that it plans to withdraw its military support by January for the CIA’s international counterterrorism missions.
The Daily Mail reported yesterday:
The Pentagon is planning to cut most of its military support to the Central Intelligence Agency’s counterterrorism operations by January 5, according to reports.
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller revealed the surprising decision in a letter to CIA Director Gina Haspel, ABC News reports.
The Pentagon decided to withdraw the support as it reviews whether the military personnel assigned to CIA counterterrorism operations during conflicts in the Middle East, could be moved to missions in Russia and China, according to Defense One.
The President has reasons for focusing military and CIA assets less on the Middle East and more on China and Russia. Perhaps next week’s report from Ratcliffe will address this.