After being embroiled in a raging domestic controversy with his ambiguous reaction to racial violence in Charlottesville over the past week, President Donald Trump will shift gear on Monday night to a major international priority and unveil his administration’s strategy vis-à-vis Afghanistan and South Asia.
In a nationally-televised prime time appearance, Trump will address American troops and citizens at large from Fort Meyer in Arlington, Virginia to “provide an update on the path forward for America’s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia”, the White House announced.
Trump is widely expected to announce deployment of about 4,000 additional US troops and advisors to bolster Afghanistan’s counter-terrorism effort, thus reversing his predecessor Barack Obama’s decision last year to withdraw 1,400 troops after having declared an end to US combat in 2014.
There are also indications of a suitable role for India in the overall scheme of things. “It is a South Asia strategy,” US Defence Secretary James N. Mattis told reporters while on his way to Amman after attending the President’s “rigorous” review meeting held at his Camp David retreat in Maryland on Friday. “It is not just an Afghanistan strategy,” Mattis told reporters, without going into details of the strategy Trump is set to lay out.
Significantly, reports suggest that the new Trump strategy would aim to pressure Pakistan to ramp up measures against the Taliban and other militant groups carrying out cross-border raids into Afghanistan.
“Funding for Pakistan, including contributions for Pakistani troops deployed near the border with Afghanistan, may be held up to more scrutiny than it is now,” The New York Times reported, citing Pentagon and Congressional officials.
Right now, there are 8,400 American troops, besides 5,000 NATO personnel engaged in training and advising Afghan security forces amid a resurgence in militant activity from the Taliban and Islamic State forces.
Those who attended Trump’s Camp David meeting included Vice President Mike Pence, Mattis, Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, National Security Advisor HR McMaster and other top advisors.
“The process was rigorous. And it involved all members of the Cabinet, of the national security staff, writ large,” Mattis was quoted as telling reporters in Amman, adding: “The President has made a decision. I am very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous.”
The Congress remains sharply divided on the question of deploying more US forces in Afghanistan. While senior Republican Senator John McCain has for long been pushing for an aggressive thrust, Democratic Senators Ben Cardin and Tim Kaine are opposed to the idea.
“We must face facts: we are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide,” McCain said last week, outlining his own strategy for Afganistan and criticising the Trump administration for its delays on this score. McCain has proposed deploying more US troops along with increased airpower to aid Afghan forces.
Senator Cardin, on the other hand, came out strongly against inducting more troops.
“I don’t believe putting more American soldiers in Afghanistan is the answer,” he told Fox News on Sunday, arguing that the US should focus on efforts for a stable government in Kabul.