"The drawdown could be ... a unilateral concession to the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...," other officials told CNN. "The smaller US military presence will be largely focused on counterterrorism operations against groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS-K," they added.
The officials, however, acknowledged the expected withdrawal could "reduce considerably" the US military’s ability to train and advise local Afghan forces.
The United States still has between 12,000 and 13,000 troops in Afghanistan.
The officials who spoke to NBC News said this would be a phased withdrawal that would occur over a few months, but they did not say when it would begin.