Pentagon chief warns of losing gains
WASHINGTON — The U.S. must “do something very different” in Afghanistan, such as placing American military advisers closer to the front lines of battle, or risk squandering all that has been invested there in recent years, the head of the Pentagon’s military intelligence agency said Thursday.
The grim assessment by Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, comes as the Trump administration considers Pentagon recommendations to add more U.S. and NATO troops and to deepen support for Afghan forces. The timing of a White House decision is unclear but is not expected this week.
In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Stewart said he visited Afghanistan about six weeks ago to see for himself what others have called a stalemate with the Taliban, the insurgent group that was removed from power in 2001 by invading U.S. forces.
“Left unchecked, that stalemate will deteriorate in the favor of the belligerents,” Stewart said, referring to the Taliban. “So, we have to do something very different than what we have been doing in the past.” He mentioned increasing the number of U.S. and NATO advisers and possibly allowing them to advise Afghan forces who are more directly involved in the fighting. Currently the advisers work with upperechelon Afghan units far removed from the front lines.
If such changes are not made, Stewart said, “the situation will continue to deteriorate and we’ll lose all the gains we’ve invested in over the last several years.”
Testifying alongside Stewart, the nation’s top intelligence official, Dan Coats, said the Taliban is likely to continue making battlefield gains.
“Afghanistan will almost certainly deteriorate through 2018 even with a modest increase in military assistance by the United States and its partners,” Coats said, adding, “Afghan security forces performance will probably worsen due to a combination of Taliban operations, combat casualties, desertion, poor logistics support and weak leadership.”
The Pentagon says it currently has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, about one-quarter of whom are special operations forces targeting extremist groups such as an Islamic State affiliate. Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Kabul, has said he needs about 3,000 more U.S. and NATO troops to fill a gap in training and advising roles.
More than 2,200 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion in October 2001.
DARDANELLE, Ark. — A man suspected of gunning down an Arkansas sheriff’s deputy early Thursday and killing two other people surrendered after a fivehour standoff with police, authorities said.
James Michael Bowden, 32, gave himself up about 30 minutes after releasing a woman he had apparently been holding hostage inside the home where two females were found dead, State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said during a news conference. Investigators were questioning that woman.
Authorities said Bowden is suspected of killing Yell County Sheriff’s Lt. Kevin C. Mainhart during a traffic stop. Mainhart was responding to a call about a disturbance at the home near Dardanelle, which is about 65 miles west of Little Rock.
Investigators haven’t released the names or ages of the female victims, or said how they were killed.
Mainhart had been an officer in Yell County for five years. He had previously worked for the West Memphis Police Department for more than 20 years, according to a State Police news release.
Yell County Sheriff Bill Gilkey said that Mainhart was a great father and husband, as well as being an excellent officer.
KATV broadcast an interview Thursday that it said was with the suspect’s father, James Bowden Sr., in which he says the incident stemmed from an argument his son had with his girlfriend.
Bowden’s father also told the TV station that the deputy had fired a Taser at the suspect, who allegedly thought he had been shot and then fired back, fatally wounding the officer. The suspect’s father said the woman, who was apparently being held hostage, is Bowden’s girlfriend.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge expressed their condolences to the deputy’s family and praised his 25 years in law enforcement.