Mediaboss Marketing

Leading Republicans on Monday praised President Trump's new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, including his call for a major shift from "arbitrary timetables" for American involvement to a conditions-based approach in the region.

In prime-time remarks from Fort Myer, Va., the president discussed his evolving views on the 16-year conflict in Afghanistan and his plan for "principled realism" moving forward. Trump said his administration's primary goal in Afghanistan is to avoid leaving the same type of vacuum that gave rise to the Islamic State terror group in Iraq, though he declined to specify how many additional American troops will be deployed to boost existing counter-terrorism operations.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., who has been critical of Trump's previous failure to articulate a strategy, said the president took "a big step in the right direction" during his speech Monday.

"I believe the President is now moving us well beyond the prior administration's failed strategy of merely postponing defeat," McCain said in a statement, noting that Trump now faces the task of keeping "the right level of effort, in the right places, with the right authorities and resources [to] see this conflict through to success."

"To do this, the President must conduct himself as a wartime commander-in-chief. He must speak regularly to the American people, and to those waging this war on their behalf, about why we are fighting, why the additional sacrifices are worth it, and how we will success," said McCain, a naval aviator who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war.

Trump admitted Monday that his position on Afghanistan changed as he began to grasp his duties as president. It was a rare moment of self-reflection for the normally brash leader one that congressional Republicans like House Speaker Paul Ryan took note of.

"I was actually pleased with the way he went about making this decision," Ryan, R-Wis., told CNN. "I think I heard a new Trump strategy, or a new doctrine so to speak."

For the White House, the mostly positive reception to the president's speech was a welcome change from the barrage of criticism officials have faced in the wake of Trump's response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va. Republican lawmakers who criticized the president just last week were quick to praise him on Monday.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who described the president's speech as "excellent," said Trump's decision to base strategy "on the conditions on the ground not on arbitrary numbers and timelines is the right approach."

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., commended Trump for "refocusing our military efforts and supporting our brave warfighters by laying out a strategy that will help produce a more secure, stable, and sovereign Afghanistan."

And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who the president accused of spreading a "disgusting lie" about himself last week, said Trump proved Monday that he has "the smarts and the moral courage to listen to his generals and take their advice."

"I am very pleased with this plan, and I am very proud of my president," Graham said in an appearance on Fox News.

"The President has outlined an important change from an approach driven by arbitrary deadlines to a strategy based on conditions on the ground," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a statement. "He also made clear that the Afghan government needs to do its part in defending its people, ending havens for terrorists, and curtailing corruption."

Ohio Congressman Mike Turner, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump made it clear that congressional Republicans "act as soon as possible to repeal the sequestration of defense in order to appropriately fund our military" and give American servicemen the resources they need to carry out their missions.

But not everyone was pleased with the Afghanistan strategy Trump described in his remarks.

"I don't trust him," said Rep. Eric Swalwell, a ranking Democratic on the House Intelligence panel. "Sixteen years of war in Afghanistan is enough. Time for Donald Trump to come to Congress for a vote on further action."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tweeted that the president's speech was "low on details but raises serious questions about the future."

"There's nothing hasty about ending America's longest war," tweeted Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., a rare GOP dissenter. Amash said Trump "bowed to the military-industrial establishment" and "doubled down on perpetual war."

More:
Republicans praise Trump for charting new course on Afghanistan - Washington Examiner