No decision on troop surge so far: Pentagon

WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): The US Defence Secretary James Mattis has taken no decision on a troop increase in Afghanistan so far and any such decision would be taken in consultation with the Afghan Government, his spokesperson said Friday.

“Secretary Mattis has made no decisions on a troop increase for Afghanistan,” Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said in a statement, adding that any such decision would be taken in consultation with the Ghani Government in Kabul and other allies and friends of the United States.

“Any decisions about troop numbers will be made only after consultation with the interagency, the Afghan government, NATO allies and coalition partners,” White said in a statement.

“As he (Mattis) said throughout the week in testimony, the revised Afghanistan strategy will be presented to the president for his approval in the coming weeks,” she said. 

White said the president has delegated force management authority for Afghanistan to the secretary.  “The secretary will continue to follow the president’s guidance on our overall strategy,” she said. 

The White House said such a authorization to Mattis is part of the broader plan. “The President is simply giving the Secretary of Defense — this is one piece of a broader cohesive plan for that region — and he wants to give Secretary Mattis the ability to manage the troops and the resources to do so,” the White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference on Thursday.

nh

Views: 0