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FILE – In this April 17, 2017 file photo, U.S. forces and Afghan security police are seen in Asad Khil near the site of a U.S. bombing in the Achin district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan. Behind the detail-scarce rhetoric of the new Afghanistan strategy, elements of President Donald Trump’s broader approach to foreign conflicts emerge: secret military plans, no “nation-building” and a reliance on regional players to squeeze wayward nations and extremist groups. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils his long-awaited strategy for resolving the nearly 16-year-old conflict in Afghanistan.
Trump came into office wanting to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. But, by his own admission, becoming President has a way of changing a person’s perspective.
And so it was, after careful study and a comprehensive review by his national security team, that Mr. Trump decided to reverse course.
Instead of withdrawing, the United States will re-energize its commitment to the Afghan conflict. In a speech short on details, the President spoke of concerns that a hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum for terrorists.
To discuss the President’s speech on Afghanistan:
- Raza Rumi, scholar-in-residence at Ithaca College and an Editor for Pakistan’s Daily Times.
- Michael Johns, co-founder of the U.S. National Tea Party Movement and a former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush.
- Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
- Simon Marks, president and Chief Correspondent of Feature Story News.
