Trump administration "makes decisions" on strategy for Afghanistan

After meeting with his military generals, US President Donald Trump tweeted that "many decisions made including Afghanistan".

US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Hagerstown Regional Airport in Hagerstown, Maryland, August 18, 2017.
AFP

US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Hagerstown Regional Airport in Hagerstown, Maryland, August 18, 2017.

The Trump administration, wary of international involvements but eager for progress in the gruelling Afghan war, has been weighing a range of options for the future in South Asian country.

It had originally promised a new plan by mid-July.

Trump had been briefed by his national security team on a new strategy to protect America's interests in South Asia.

A day after the meeting at the presidential retreat in Maryland, Trump tweeted:

It was unclear how far-ranging those decisions might be, or when they would be announced.

But Trump is said to be dissatisfied by initial proposals to add a few thousand more troops to the country, and advisers were studying an expanded strategy for the broader South Asian region, including Pakistan.

There are now about 8,400 US and 5,000 NATO troops supporting Afghanistan's security forces in the fight against Taliban and other militants. 

But the situation has remained as deadly as ever, with more than 2,500 Afghan police and troops killed from January 1 to May 8.

Afghanistan Independence Day

On Saturday, Afghanistan also celebrated its 98th independence anniversary from British rule amid tight security. 

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani placed a floral wreath under the freedom monument at the Afghan Defence Ministry compound in a ceremony attended by Afghan government officials.

TRT World and Agencies

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani places a wreath of flowers next to the minaret of liberty during Afghan Independence Day celebrations in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 19, 2017.

Afghanistan gained full independence from Britain in 1919.

Though never part of the British Empire, Britain had controlled Afghan foreign policy since the second Anglo-Afghan war of 1879.

More than 15 years since the United States invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government for giving al Qaeda a sanctuary where it allegedly plotted the September 11, 2001, attacks, there is no sign to an end in fighting.

US intelligence agencies assessed in May that the conditions in Afghanistan will almost certainly deteriorate through next year, even with a modest increase in military assistance from America and its allies.

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