Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Trump gives Pentagon authority to set troop levels in Afghanistan

The Washington Post: President Trump has given the Pentagon new authority to decide the troop levels in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The move could lead to a deployment of thousands more troops as commanders decide the way forward in the 15-year-old war.

The U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly, said the move is similar to the April decision that gave the Pentagon more authority to set troop levels in Iraq and Syria. The change, the Pentagon said, was so units could deploy at their proper strength to better maintain unit cohesion.

With the new authority, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis could authorize deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan, something commanders on the ground have been requesting for months. Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and his direct superior, U.S. Central Command head Gen. Joseph Votel, have both made cases for sending a “few thousand” more troops. If sent, the forces would help the fledgling Afghan military regain portions of the country that have fallen to the Taliban since U.S. forces ended their combat mission there in 2014.

Read article