Afghan troop level to be set by Mattis
Defense secretary says move allows for fast response.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday he can now set U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan after receiving the authority from President Donald Trump. It’s a break from past practice that Mattis said will enable him to more effectively manage the war effort.
“I will set the U.S. military commitment, consistent with the commander in chief ’s strategic direction,” Mattis told a Senate panel, announcing a break with past White House control over troop numbers.
Mattis made the announcement a day after being verbally hammered by Sen. John McCain. R-Ariz., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, for the administration’s failure so far to present an overarching strategy for Afghanistan. McCain said the U.S. is “not winning” in Afghanistan. Mattis agreed.
Forced from power after U.S. troops invaded in October 2001, the Taliban have been resurgent, increasing their hold on numerous areas of the country.
The U.S. has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, a cap set by President Barack Obama’s White House, which closely controlled troop numbers in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria in a manner similar to the way the Bush administration handled such matters. Trump’s decision to delegate that authority to Mattis reflects the president’s view that wars are better managed by the Pentagon; he previously provided Mattis leeway to determine how many U.S. troops are in Syria and Iraq.
“This ensures the department can facilitate our missions and nimbly align our commitment to the situation on the ground,” Mattis said.
Hours later, Mattis issued a written statement that provided no further details on Trump’s decision but said counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan are “making progress in degrading” groups like al-Qaida and the Islamic State. “But their defeat will come about only by giving our men and women on the ground the support and the authorities they need to win,” he added.
Some questioned the wisdom of the president delegating such authority to the Pentagon.
Christine Wormuth, the Pentagon’s top policy official from 2014 to 2016, expressed confidence in Mattis’ judgment but suggested an arrangement in which the president gives his defense secretary the authority to adjust troop levels within a broad range set by the White House.
“To just say to Jim Mattis, ‘Do whatever you think is best,’ and for Secretary Mattis to be able to add 30,000 troops, for example, without having to get the president to approve that, strikes me as unhealthy,” Wormuth said.
“It certainly could be interpreted as the president kind of distancing himself from these profound decisions and specifically from what we’re doing in Afghanistan,” she added.