President Trump has given Defense Secretary Jim Mattis the authority to determine troop levels in Afghanistan, thus opening the door for sending more American forces to a war that the Pentagon chief acknowledged the United States was "not winning," the NY Times website reports today (June 14, 2017).
Mattis favors sending several thousand more American troops to strengthen the effort to advise Afghan forces as they push back against gains made by the Taliban, the Islamic State (IS), and other militant groups.
But officials said he had not yet decided how many more forces to send to Afghanistan, or when to deploy them.
While testifying yesterday to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis promised Congress that the Trump administration would develop a new strategy for Afghanistan by mid-July to turn around the war.
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