McCain rebukes Trump with Afghanistan plan

RICHARD LARDNER

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — In a rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump, Arizona Sen. John McCain declared Thursday that “America is adrift in Afghanistan” as he unveiled a war strategy of his own that includes more U.S. combat forces and greater counterterrorism efforts.

McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. needs to put strict conditions on continued assistance to Afghanistan requiring Kabul to demonstrate “measurable progress” in curbing corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and improving the government’s financial transparency.

“Nearly seven months into President Trump’s administration, we’ve had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened,” said McCain, a leading voice in Congress on national security matters. “The thousands of Americans putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan deserve better from their commander in chief.”

McCain said he’ll seek a vote on his “strategy for success” in Afghanistan when the Senate returns in September and takes up the annual defence policy bill.

Frustrated by his options, Trump has withheld approval of a longdelayed Afghanistan war strategy as he searches for a plan that will allow American forces to pull out once and for all.

The U.S. has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, and Trump has so far resisted the Pentagon’s recommendations to send almost 4,000 more Americans to expand training of Afghan military forces and beef up U.S. counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida, a growing Islamic State affiliate and other extremist groups. But the troop deployment, which would augment an already existing U.S. force of at least 8,400 troops, has been held up amid broader strategy questions, including how to engage regional powers in an effort to stabilize the fractured nation.

The amendment he plans to propose adding to the defence policy bill calls for a “long-term, openended” U.S.-Afghanistan partnership that includes an “enduring U.S. counterterrorism presence.”

He also recommends expanding U.S. training assistance to the Afghan security forces so they can capably fight the Taliban and other militant groups.