The Pentagon Is Reportedly Going to Send 4000 More US Troops to Afghanistan – New York Magazine
Ad will collapse in seconds CLOSE June 16, 2017 06/16/2017 1:39 pm By Adam K. Raymond Share Three of the U.S. soldiers already in Afghanistan. Photo: Ernesto Londoo/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will announce plans to send as many as 4,000 additional U.S. forces to Afghanistan next week in an attempt to help the withering Afghan military, the AP reports.
The U.S. currently has around 8,400 troops assisting the Afghan military in Afghanistan. Theyre serving alongside another 5,000 troops from NATO forces. The increase in American boots on the ground is needed to slow the progress of the Taliban, Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The Taliban had a good year last year, and theyre trying to have a good one this year, he said. Mattis added that additional U.S. troops would provide air and artillery support to Afghan forces, who have seen 5,000 killed in 2016 alone.
Mattis has only this week gained the power to set troop levels in Afghanistan, an authority granted by President Trump on Tuesday. The move drew harsh criticism from the New York Times editorial board, which said it leaves the impression that he is cowed by the weighty responsibility of sending more Americans into battle, and is looking to put that onus on Mr. Mattis so he has somebody to blame if things go wrong.
Other critics have questioned the wisdom of sending new troops to Afghanistan without a clearly defined strategy. At Tuesdays hearing with Mattis, Senator John McCain emphasized the need for a plan. Were now six months into this administration, he said. We still havent got a strategy for Afghanistan. It makes it hard for us to support you when we dont have a strategy.
Another person whos not so sure about Mattiss plan to build up troops is the anonymous veteran who sent this depressing message to Washington Post reporter Thomas Gibbons-Neff.
19 Unsettlingly Nice Tom Cruise Stories
Barack Obama Inducts Jay Z Into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
How Sex Is Orchestrated on Reality Shows Like Bachelor in Paradise
All 206 Beatles Songs Ranked, From Worst to Best
The Story Behind Orange Is the New Blacks Torture Scene and the Deleted Moment That Alters Piscatellas Story
What the Hell Is Happening With Qatar?
Is Trump Inc. the Presidents Greatest Vulnerability?
The Book of Henry Must Be Seen to Be Believed (But Please Dont See It)
Aziz Ansari Recaps the Master of None Finale: Its Not a Flashback
What Mass Killers Really Have in Common
Most Popular Video On Daily Intelligencer
Trump has made it impossible for Republicans to claim he is naive. Now, his behavior can only be explained by a guilty conscience or an unsound mind.
Look at this tweet, every time I do it makes me laugh.
The property was listed for rent on Thursday, and its already been snatched up.
The president is clamping down on travel to and trade with the communist country.
There are currently 8,400 U.S. troops in the country, along with 5,000 NATO soldiers.
That would leave Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand in charge. Heres what you need to know about her.
Michelle Carter sent her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, numerous texts urging him to kill himself.
Obamacares dead, says the man holding a gun to its head.
A Friday-morning tweet suggests Rod Rosensteins job is in danger and the special prosecutors is, too.
The investigation into the presidents son-in-law expands.
Asking him to subject himself to oversight comes as easily to him as it would to Putin or Duterte or Mugabe.
Because investigators are probably going to want to see it.
Its not clear what prompted Rod Rosensteins statement.
Lawmakers took to the field just a day after the shooting of House whip Steve Scalise.
Lynne Patton doesnt have any experience in housing policy, but she does have a lot of experience working for the Trump family.
The most expensive House race in history just got weirder and more heated.
The vice-president will be represented by Richard Cullen, a former Virginia attorney general.
Trump begged moderate Republicans to vote for his health-care bill. Now, hes calling it mean and coldhearted and the House GOP is stunned.
Some commentators are taking the argument to some disturbing lengths.
Richard Burt, who lobbied for the interests of Russias state-owned oil company, recalls two dinners with Sessions last year.
Read more from the original source:
The Pentagon Is Reportedly Going to Send 4000 More US Troops to Afghanistan - New York Magazine