| US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has signed orders that will reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan to 16,000 from 19,000 by next spring, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. The orders mean the Louisiana-based Fourth Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division will only deploy 1,300 soldiers to Afghanistan instead of all 4,000 troops as previously scheduled, a senior military officer was reported as saying. The troops staying at home will be on standby, the official told the newspaper, speaking on condition of anonymity. Pentagon spokesman Larry Di Rita told the newspaper the decision to reduce a portion of the Army unit scheduled to replace the 173rd Airborne Brigade, now in southern Afghanistan, was based on recommendations from the senior US commanders in Afghanistan and the Middle East. |