Washington - President Donald Trump opened
the door on Monday night to an increase in US troops in
Afghanistan as part of a retooled strategy for the region,
overcoming his own doubts about America's longest war and vowing
"a fight to win."
Trump, in a prime-time televised address at a military base
near Washington, said his new approach was aimed at preventing
Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for Islamist militants
bent on attacking the United States.
The Republican president, who has repeatedly criticized the
Afghanistan strategies of his predecessors, now inherits the
same challenges, including a resurgent Taliban and a weak
government in Kabul. He is laying the groundwork for greater
US involvement without a clear end in sight or providing
specific benchmarks for success.
In a speech with few details, Trump did not specify how many
more troops would be added, gave no timeline for ending the US presence in Afghanistan, and put pressure on Pakistan, India and
NATO allies to step up their own commitment.
But officials said he had signed off on Defense Secretary
James Mattis' plans to send about 4 000 more to add to the 8 400
now deployed in Afghanistan.
He warned US support was not open-ended - "our support is
not a blank check" - and insisted he would not engage in
"nation-building," a practice he has accused his predecessors of
doing at huge cost.
"We are not nation-building. We are killing terrorists," he
said.
Trump laid out a tougher approach to US policy toward
Pakistan. Senior US officials warned he could reduce security
assistance for Pakistan unless the nuclear-armed nation
cooperates more in preventing militants from using safe havens
on its soil.
"We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens,"
Trump said. "Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our
effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to
harbor terrorists."
A Pakistani army spokesman said on Monday that Pakistan had
taken action against all Islamist militants including the
Haqqani network, which is allied to Afghan Taliban insurgents.
"There are no terrorist hideouts in Pakistan. We have
operated against all terrorists, including (the) Haqqani
network," spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a media
briefing in Islamabad.
Trump expanded the US military's authority for American
armed forces to target militant and criminal networks. He said
that U.S. enemies in Afghanistan "need to know they have nowhere
to hide - that no place is beyond the reach of American arms."
"Our troops will fight to win," he added.
A US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the
Islamist Taliban government for harboring al Qaeda militants who
plotted the Sept. 11 attacks. But US forces have remained
bogged down there through the presidencies of Republican George
W. Bush, Democrat Barack Obama and now Trump. About 2 400 US forces have died in Afghanistan since the invasion.
PAST SKEPTICISM
The speech came after a months-long review of US policy in
which Trump frequently tangled with his top advisers on the
future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, where Taliban
insurgents have been making territorial gains.
US military and intelligence officials are concerned that
a Taliban victory over Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's
government would allow al Qaeda and Islamic State’s regional
affiliate to establish bases in Afghanistan from which to plot
attacks against the United States and its allies.
"The unfortunate truth is that this strategy is long overdue
and in the interim the Taliban has made dangerous inroads," said
senior Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate
Armed Services Committee.
The Republican president overcame his own skepticism about
the war that began in October 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks on
the United States. He said repeatedly on the campaign trail last
year that the war was too costly in lives and money.
"My original instinct was to pull out," he said in his
speech, but added he was convinced by his national security
advisers to strengthen the U.S. ability to prevent the Taliban
from ousting the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.
Trump's speech came as the president tries to rebound after
he was engulfed in controversy for saying both sides were to
blame for violence between white supremacists and
counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this
month.
In an allusion to the Charlottesville uproar, Trump said:
"We cannot remain a force for peace in the world if we are not
at peace with each other."
Trump also said the United States wanted India to help more
with Afghanistan, especially in the areas of economic assistance
and development.
He made clear his patience had limits in support of the
Afghanistan government, saying Kabul needed to increase its
cooperation in order to justify a continued American commitment.
Trump said it could be possible to have a political
settlement with elements of the Taliban.
"But nobody knows if or when that will ever happen," he
said.
US commanders have long planned for a possible shift in
resources from Iraq to Afghanistan as the fight against Islamic
State comes off its peak, following gains made in the Iraqi city
of Mosul and other areas.
One reason the White House decision took so long, two
officials who participated in the discussions said on Sunday, is
that it was difficult to get Trump to accept the need for a
broader regional strategy that included U.S. policy toward
Pakistan.
Trump received a wide range of conflicting options, the
officials said.
White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster and
other advisers favored accepting a request for an 4,000
additional U.S. forces.
But recently ousted White House strategic adviser Steve
Bannon had argued for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces, saying
the war was still not winnable, U.S. officials said. Bannon was
fired on Friday by Trump.