Afghan troop level to be set by Mattis
Defense secretary says move allows for fast response.
fallen to their rival insurgents. He accused the United States of carrying out airstrikes in support of the Islamic State, but local officials and residents denied hearing any.
Residents said the Taliban had fled.
“The Taliban escaped from the area last night and left us to ISIS with our women and children,” said Juma Gul, a tribal elder from Suleymank- hel Valley, close to Tora Bora, who added that his family was among hundreds who fled after Islamic State took over.
The militants now have an easily defended base at Tora Bora, Ali said, plus access to many parts of Nangarhar province through the Spin Ghar mountains along the Pakistan border, where Tora Bora sits.
Ali has extensive experi- ence fighting against al-Qaida in the area but has also been accused of having helped bin Laden escape from Tora Bora in December 2001, reportedly betraying his U.S. and Afghan allies as they closed in on the al-Qaida leadership. He has denied having done so.
In the Tora Bora area, resi- dents were angry at both the Taliban and the government for allowing the Islamic State to take over. Malak Tor, a tribal elder from Pachir Agam district, where Tora Bora is situated, complained that residents’ demands that the government mount an offensive to protect Tora Bora were ignored. WASHINGTON — 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. mili- tary 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 announce- ment 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 Octo- ber 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 Pres i dent Barack Obama’s White House, which closely controlled troop numbers in Afghanistan, Iraq and Among other things, the Syria in a manner similar to Islamic State insurgents had the way the Bush administra- taken a large marble quarry tion handled such matters. as well as a fuel depot. Trump’s decision to dele-
“Now they will find finangate that authority to Mat- cial resources for themselves, tis reflects the president’s and then it will be very diffi- view that wars are better cult to push them out of Tora managed by the Pentagon; Bora,” Tor said. he previously provided Mat-
Tribal elder tis 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.