Senators slam failure to address Afghanistan

Delegates call for Trump to fill several embassy, State vacancies

KABUL, Afghanistan — A delegation of U.S. senators visiting Afghanistan issued a stark warning Tuesday to President Donald Trump to fill vacant embassy and State Department positions to better address the country’s mounting military and political crises.

Led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the U.S. delegation in Kabul voiced concern in the absence of a permanent U.S. ambassador, which has been a vacant role for several months. The civilian diplomatic mission in Kabul has been led by a chargé d’affaires, Hugo Llorens, who was called in from imminent retirement as a stopgap during a time when the Afghan government has faced political storms.

“All of us realize that it’s more than just dropping bombs that will win in Afghanistan,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “Secretary (Rex) Tillerson needs to come to Afghanistan quickly.”

Graham said the lack of diplomatic focus is unnerving and called on the administration to appoint someone “to manage this portfolio” and to fill State Department vacancies for roles dealing with South and Central Asia relations.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said the military had expressed concern about “the hollowing out of the State Department.”

The issue highlights the U.S. military’s outsize role in Afghanistan, with U.S. commanders even shouldering some of the diplomatic efforts around the country.

Trump is expected to increase troops by several thousand, adding to the roughly 8,800 U.S. forces already positioned in Afghanistan to train and assist Afghan forces carrying out counterterrorism missions.

Pentagon officials have hinted there is no current timeline on increasing military presence in Afghanistan — essentially prolonging a war that has already dragged on for 16 years.

The security situation in Afghanistan has worsened in recent years, with the Taliban overrunning districts, surrounding cities and inflicting heavy casualties.

Afghanistan’s acting minister of defense, Maj. Gen. Tariq Shah Bahrami, said Tuesday that there was fighting in 21 of the country’s 34 provinces and that government forces were facing “fierce fighting” in seven of those provinces.

Heavy fighting continued for a third day on the outskirts of Kunduz as Afghan forces attempted to clear Taliban checkpoints on the highway to Kabul.