‘No more past mistakes in Afghanistan’

Trump says he will defer combat policy to the Pentagon

WASHINGTON // US defence secretary Jim Mattis vowed that the Donald Trump administration would not repeat the “mistakes of the past” in Afghanistan after the president said he wanted to defer policy to the Pentagon.

The move was in contrast to his predecessor, Barack Obama, who kept battlefield commanders on a tight leash and scrutinised deployments.

The decision to let Mr Mattis, a retired marine general who fought in Afghanistan, send extra troops into the country is an indication that the Pentagon has prevailed over Trump advis- ers who had advocated for an American withdrawal. Although Mr Trump has said little about Afghanistan, he gave Mr Mattis authority to set troop numbers, a decision finalised as the Pentagon chief told politicians that America was not winning against the Taliban.

The Pentagon is thought to be considering the deployment of an extra 3,000 to 5,000 troops – some of them supplied by Nato allies – in Afghanistan to help train and advise local forces fighting the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

“We cannot allow Afghanistan to once again become a launching point for attacks on our homeland or on our allies,” said Mr Mattis. There are currently about 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan and about 5,000 Nato forces.

Additional troops would allow western advisers to work with more Afghan combat units, although locals would still be doing the fighting.

Mr Mattis said that his new approach on Afghanistan, which he will present to Mr Trump by next month, would have a broader regional emphasis and not be bound by timelines.

After sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in 2009, Mr Obama drew heavy criticism for subsequently announcing when they would withdraw.

That would not happen again, Mr Mattis said. “When we reduce, we reduce based on conditions on the ground, not on an arbitrary timeline.”

But given Afghanistan’s violent history and the fate of successive presidents who tried to win there, analysts are not confident of the defence chief’s chances of long-term success.

“If all we are doing is tinkering around at the margin of a strategy that amounts to ‘ muddle through and hope for a miracle,’ then 3,000 to 5,000 troops are not going to make a difference,” said Stephen Biddle, a professor at George Washington University and an Afghanistan expert. But sending thousands more troops back to Afghanistan could still be a tough sell for Mr Trump, who campaigned on an America First platform and a pledge to reduce US adventurism abroad. The US government has already spent around US$ 1 trillion (Dh3.7 trillion) on wars and rebuilding, much of which has been squandered on wasteful projects.