Donald Trump 'approves mini-surge' against Taliban with thousands of new troops
DONALD Trump has paved the way for the US Defence Secretary to lead a fightback against a “surging” Taliban in Afghanistan.
Donald Trump has handed James Mattis control of the conflict in Afghanistan
President Trump has handed US Defence Secretary James “Mad Dog” Mattis the authority to set troop levels for a war that commanders say America is not winning
Mr Mattis is in favour of a “mini–surge” against the Islamic fundamentalist group which would include between 3,000 and 5,000 US troops in a joint mission with Nato allies.
He said: “The Taliban had a good year last year, and they’re trying to have a good one this year. Right now, I believe the enemy is surging.”
The US are reportedly spending £2.4billion ($3.1billion) a month on the conflict and roughly 8,400 troops are already stationed in the country.
But the decision is in direct contrast to the Trump campaign policy of “America First” which sought to end US involvement in overseas conflicts.
Mr Mattis continued: “This administration will not repeat the mistakes of the past. We cannot allow Afghanistan to once again become a launching point for attacks on our homeland.
“We will continue to work with our allies and we will ask more of them.”
Three US soldiers were killed and another wounded on Saturday when they were attacked by an Afghan soldier, who was killed.
Jason Dempsey, a former combat adviser to the Afghan Border Police, said: “What will 3,000 US troops do that 100,000 US troops could not?
Taliban attack major military base in Afghanistan
Mattis claimed the Taliban had been surging in the last year and growing in confidence
“If they don’t do something fundamentally different, it’s a waste of time.”
The US have had forces in Afghanistan since October 2001, when US and British forces began airstrikes in the country after the Taliban refused to hand over the al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
US troops are still being killed in Afghanistan
Yesterday ISIS claimed a symbolic victory by capturing Tora Bora, the mountain fortress once held by Bin Laden, from the Taliban.
Michael O’Hanlon, an analyst with the Brookings Institution, said: “There would be little purpose in talking about a build-up this year if our intention was to pull out next year.”