Republican lawmakers praised President Donald Trump’s announcement Monday that he would maintain U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and base further action on conditions on the ground rather than a predetermined timeline.
Speaking at Fort Myer in Virginia, Trump said that the consequences of withdrawal from Afghanistan would be “both predictable and unacceptable.” The president is expected to increase troop levels there, though he said Monday that he would not discuss numbers or military plans.
“I will not say when we are going to attack, but attack we will,” Trump said. The goal of using “strategically applied force” in Afghanistan, he later added, is to set up the conditions for a political process and achieve peace.
Arizona senator John McCain, chairman of the armed services committee, commended the president’s strategy as “long overdue.” He had previously slammed the administration for delaying in setting out a strategy for Afghanistan.
“The President is now moving us well beyond the prior administration’s failed strategy of merely postponing defeat,” McCain said in a statement. “It is especially important that the newly announced strategy gives no timeline for withdrawal, rather ensures that any decision to reduce our commitment in the future will be based on conditions on the ground.”
South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham applauded the president’s strategy.
“President Trump has the smarts and the moral courage to listen to his generals and take their advice, rather than going the political way, and I’m so proud he did,” he said on Fox News.
Between Afghanistan and Syria @realDonaldTrump is showing the WILL to stand up to Radical Islam…
….unlike President Obama.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 22, 2017
Florida senator Marco Rubio tweeted his approval, too.
New #AfghanStrategy based on the conditions on ground not on arbitrary numbers and timelines is the right approach
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 22, 2017
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday also appeared happy with Trump’s announcement that he would not “telegraph” the timetable for U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
“If they believe that we have some end date, some timetable, then they will wait us out and then they will come back and fill that vacuum with terror,” Ryan said during a CNN townhall.
Trump’s strategy includes holding Afghanistan accountable for maintaining “their share of the military, political, and economic burden” in exchange for continued U.S. support. The president also issued a sharp rejection of “nation-building.”
“We are a partner and a friend, but we will not dictate to the Afghan people how to live or how to govern their own complex society,” he said.
Tennessee senator Bob Corker, chairman of the foreign relations committee, broadly praised the president’s plan but questioned the portion of the strategy related to Afghan governance, according to the Tennessean.
“While there are certainly substantial questions about whether Afghanistan has the capacity over time to provide stable governance to its people, this more focused plan provides the U.S. military with the flexibility it needs to help the Afghan military regain momentum,” Corker said.
The president’s decision to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan contradicts repeated statements he made as a private citizen on the subject—something he acknowledged Monday.
“My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like following my instincts,” Trump said. “But all my life, I’ve heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office.”
Trump also put pressure on Pakistan in his speech, calling out the country for serving as a “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror,” including the Taliban.
