The White House Is Split On What To Do In Afghanistan

United States Army soldiers from the Second Battalion, 87th Infantry oversaw training of the 215th Corps of the Afghan National Army at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province last year. Credit Adam Ferguson for The New York Times

New York Times: Trump Administration Is Split on Adding Troops in Afghanistan

ROME — When President Trump landed in Saudi Arabia last Saturday on his first foreign trip, he brought with him a $110 billion arms deal. When he arrives at the NATO summit in Belgium on Thursday, he will bring mostly questions, many of them about the war in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon is pushing to reinforce the Afghan army with up to 5,000 more American troops. Some administration officials expected Mr. Trump to make a decision on a deployment before the NATO meeting, which would have laid down a marker for the other alliance members.

But now the president’s decision has been delayed, officials said, after an intense debate erupted in the West Wing over the wisdom of pouring more soldiers into a 16-year-old conflict.

Mr. Trump, they said, wants to gauge what other NATO members are willing to contribute to the military effort before he makes any commitment. The United States is already spending $3.1 billion a month in Afghanistan — a number that aides say weighs on a president who has spoken about the need for greater burden-sharing from NATO allies.

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WNU Editor: The U.S. spends $3.1 billion a month in Afghanistan .... but the trend of battlefield losses continues .... Afghan Forces Continue to Suffer Battlefield Casualties (VOA). To put it bluntly .... this is not sustainable. On a side note, here is a good analysis .... In Afghanistan, a Conflict With No Time Limit (Stratfor).

More News On The U.S. Involvement In Afghanistan

White House at odds over more troops to Afghanistan: report -- The Hill
A U.S. troop increase would aim to double the size of Afghanistan’s special operations unit -- Washington Post
Use of Air Power in Afghanistan up Sharply as Trump Troop Decision Looms -- US News and World Report
US ramps up bombing in Afghanistan as Trump mulls troop surge -- RT
Why Afghans Are Uncertain More US Troops Is The Right Solution -- Sultan Faizy and Shashank Bengali, Task & Purpose/LA Times
Admiral Stavridis: 5 Reasons Trump Should Send More Troops to Afghanistan -- James Stavridis, TIME
Time for the US to take a step back from Afghanistan -- James D. Durso, The Hill
More U.S. Troops Aren't Enough to Fix Afghanistan -- Bloomberg editorial