Esper: US to start initial troop pullback from Afghanistan

Warning that it will be a “long, windy, bumpy road” to peace in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday he has approved the start of an American troop withdrawal even as the Taliban said it would continue attacks against Afghan forces.Speaking at a Pentagon news conference, Esper said he wasn't sure if the drawdown had begun, but he said it must start within 10 days of the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement that was announced on Saturday.Esper said Gen. Scott Miller, the U.S.