Pentagon says Afghanistan troop boost to cost $1 billion

WASHINGTON» The U.S. military’s top leaders told lawmakers Tuesday that the thousands of additional U.S. troops President Donald Trump has ordered to Afghanistan will cost more than $1 billion a year, bringing the total bill for fighting America’s longest war to $12.5 billion annually.

During wide-ranging hearings on Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also said the United States should remain in the nuclear deal negotiated during the Obama administration that constrains Iran’s ability to build a nuclear arsenal. Trump has trashed the international accord, a cornerstone of Barack Obama’s presidency, as the worst agreement ever negotiated by the United States and signaled he may abandon the agreement.

The release of the Afghan war cost information came as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., assailed Mattis and Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for withholding from Congress key details about Trump’s new strategy for winning in Afghanistan that was announced six weeks ago.

McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, declared that it was “bizarre” that Mattis and Dunford did not submit written testimony before the hearing started.

That’s customary practice for administration witnesses testifying before congressional committees.

“We want to be your partners,” McCain said. “But this committee will not be a rubber stamp for any policy or president. We must be well-informed. We must be convinced of the merits of the administration’s actions.

And unfortunately, we still have far more questions than answers about this new strategy.”

Mattis and Dunford, who appeared first before the Senate panel and later before the House Armed Services Committee, sought to assure skeptical lawmakers that Trump’s plan for expanding the U.S. presence in Afghanistan would pay off. Several members expressed concern the U.S. was wading more deeply into a conflict at great expense without prospects for long-term success.

Mattis said that the Afghanistan military and police forces are fully engaged in combat operations for the first time during the 16-year-old war and are suffering fewer casualties as they continue to improve their competence on the battlefield.