WASHINGTON, Aug 21: It will be President Donald Trump’s turn today to address a problem that vexed his two predecessors when he details his strategy for the war in Afghanistan, America’s longest military conflict.
In a prime-time speech to the nation, Trump may announce a modest increase in US troops, as recommended by his senior advisers. Trump has long been skeptical of the US approach in the region, where the Afghan war is in its 16th year. He announced a strategic review soon after taking office in January and has privately questioned whether sending more troops was wise, US officials said. “We’re not winning,” he told advisers in a mid-July meeting, questioning whether Army General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, should be fired, an official said. Trump, who yesterday ended a two-week working vacation at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, reached his decision on Afghanistan after lengthy talks with his top military and national security aides at Camp David, Maryland, on Friday. A White House statement yesterday said Trump would “provide an update on the path forward for America’s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia.” A senior administration official said the likeliest outcome was that Trump would agree to a modest increase in US troops. Current US troop numbers are about 8,400. The United States invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, and overthrew the Islamist Taliban government. But US forces have remained bogged down there through the presidencies of George W Bush, Barack Obama and now Trump. “I took over a mess, and we’re going to make it a lot less messy,” Trump said when asked about Afghanistan earlier this month.
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