Pentagon Briefing:Afghanistan,Syria,Europe

On 9 September 2019,US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Jonathan R. Hoffman gave an off-camera press briefing covering a broad range of concerns.
On Afghanistan:
With regard to potential troop drawdowns or potential numbers,those are some hypotheticals that we'll look at once an agreement is in place.What we've always said,though,is that the number of troops that we will have will always be the appropriate level that we need to provide security there.We're going to focus on the counter-terror mission,and we're going to focus on the reason we got into Afghanistan in the first place,and that is to prevent terrorist operations or individuals from using Afghanistan as a base from which to operate against the homeland.*
When we're looking at what is the enduring presence,the enduring mission of the US is that we're going to focus on having a CT mission,and we're going to be where we need to be anywhere in the world to focus on terrorist actors from having a safe haven from which they could strike the US,whether it's Afghanistan or elsewhere.*
So all of our combatant commanders around the world take the life and safety of the troops under their command seriously.So General (Austin S.) Miller has the authority to take steps and take measures that he believes are  necessary to protect the troops that he has.*
On Europe:
On this current trip to Europe (by Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper),he discussed the need for our allies to contribute more.We need to raise all of our capabilities,both in Europe and the Asia-Pacific,to confront China and Russia.
In certain areas,it may make sense for our allies,if they want to see the increase in funding for facilities in their country on our bases,they might want to consider looking into them (to pay for those facilities themselves).*
On Syria:
I don't have any information on troop numbers in Syria right now,that I can provide you with.What I can tell you is that in Syria,we're working very closely,particularly in the security mechanism that's taking place along the Turkish border,to try to limit the conflict (with the YPG Kurds),work on a way where we're in close coordination with the Turkish allies to help that,so that there's no additional conflict between any side,so that we can focus on the D-ISIS mission.*