Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Trump expected to announce small troop increase for Afghanistan in prime time address

The Washington Post: President Trump was preparing Monday to rally the nation in support of a new strategy for the U.S. war in Afghanistan, taking greater ownership of a protracted conflict that he had long dismissed as a waste of time and resources.

Trump is expected to announce a modest increase of several thousand troops during a prime time address from the Fort Myer military base, the result of a lengthy policy review within his administration over how to proceed in the nation’s longest war.

The president’s apparent decision to endorse a Pentagon plan to boost troop levels reflects mounting concerns among military leadership that battlefield setbacks for Afghan government forces against the Taliban and al-Qaeda have led to a rapidly deteriorating security situation.

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