A Pentagon request to send several thousand more U.S. troops to Afghanistan will be going to the White House next week, a senior official told Congress Thursday.
“We are actually actively looking at adjustments to the approach in Afghanistan right now,” said Theresa Whelan, acting assistant defense secretary for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“I expect that these proposals will go to the president within the next week,” she told the committee.
While Whelan did not specify how many additional U.S. troops would be dispatched to Afghanistan, the top U.S. commander there, Gen. John “Mick” Nicholson, has made no secret of the fact that he’s asking for several thousand more U.S. and NATO military trainers to help break what he has called a “stalemate” in the more than 16-year war with the Taliban.
“The intent is to do just that,” Whelan said, “to move beyond the stalemate and also to recognize that Afghanistan is a very important partner for the United States in a very tricky region.”
Nicholson oversees two separate missions in Afghanistan: “Resolute Support,” a NATO-led operation that provides training, advice and assistance to the Afghan Security Forces; and “Freedom’s Sentinel,” a U.S.-led counterterrorism mission in which U.S. special operations forces target Islamic State and al Qaeda remnants, along with Afghan partner forces.
Nicholson has told Congress he has enough forces for the U.S. counterterrorism mission, but not enough troops for support of the Afghan military, an assessment that was reaffirmed by the general in charge of U.S. Special Operations Command, which provides the forces for the counterterrorism mission.
“Right now I think we have an adequate number of my troops, special operation forces, on the ground,” said Gen. Raymond Thomas.
The U.S. has about 8,500 troops in Afghanistan. That number would grow to more than 10,000 if President Trump signs off on the Pentagon’s recommendation.
The deployment of additional U.S. forces seemed to enjoy broad support among committee members.
“This is an important fight that we need to win and there’s every reason that we should be able to do that,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. “We have a populace in Afghanistan who supports our presence there. The overwhelming majority of the ethnic groups, of the tribes appreciate what we stand for and look to the United States for leadership.”
