Trump Is Quietly Expanding All of Obama's Wars

By Abigail Tracy, Vanity Fair

07 July 17

The president has agreed to increase troops in Afghanistan.

n the campaign trail, Donald Trump pitched Americans on an immiscible foreign-policy agenda, combining elements of staunch isolationism and a rejection of Bush-era interventionism with promises to “bomb the shit out of ISIS.” But in his four months as president, Trump, characteristically, has done something of a 180-degree turn. He turned over much of his military policy and decision-making to the same “embarrassing” generals he previously claimed to know more than; he authorized a missile strike and boots on the ground in Syria, a country he had repeatedly warned against getting involved with; and he increased troop levels in Iraq, doubling down on a tactic he had called “a horrible mistake.”

Now, the Trump administration is considering sending more troops into the war in Afghanistan, which he previously called “a complete waste.” On Tuesday, the president gave Defense Secretary James Mattis the authority to determine the number of troops in Afghanistan, The New York Times reports, a rejection of the management levels adopted by the Obama administration.

With the new latitude, the Pentagon is expected to send as many as 4,000 new troops to fight al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, according to an Associated Press report citing a Trump administration official. But as was the case with Trump’s decision to strike Syria, it is unclear whether the move is part of any broader military strategy. Bloomberg’s Eli Lake reports that while Trump signed off on the cap removal, he has yet to sign off on a plan. The president also has yet to present his strategy to destroy ISIS, which he gave Mattis 30 days to devise shortly after the inauguration. Mattis reportedly turned in his plan on February 27, but Trump has not publicly modified or approved it.

This dynamic has left some lawmakers frustrated. During a meeting last week in which Mattis conceded to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. is “not winning in Afghanistan right now,” John McCain derided the delay of a broader strategy. “We are now six months into this administration; we still haven’t got a strategy for Afghanistan,” the Arizona senator said. “It makes it hard for us to support you when we don’t have a strategy. We know what the strategy was for the last eight years—don’t lose. That hasn’t worked.”

Mattis responded, “We are putting it together now, and there are actions being taken to make certain that we don’t pay a price for the delay,” he said. “We recognize the need for urgency, and your criticism is fair, sir.”