President Trump has signed off on sending an additional 4,000 troops to Afghanistan, ahead of his address to the nation Monday night, Fox News has learned.
Trump is set to unveil his strategy for Afghanistan, becoming the third commander-in-chief to attempt to stabilize the war-torn country and forge a victory in what is now America’s longest war. An estimated 8,400 U.S. troops are currently in Afghanistan.
A big part of tonigh’t speech will include “asking the region to do more,” specifically asking India and Pakistan to do more to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, a senior U.S. official told Fox News.
Already, the Trump administration has ramped up airstrikes in Afghanistan this year: 1,984 from January to July, nearly triple the amount from the same period in 2016, according to the U.S. Air Force.
Trump tweeted Saturday that he had reached a decision on the way forward, after meeting to review options with top advisers at Camp David. While the president has not revealed the contours of his plan, associates expect he will keep U.S. troops in the country and possibly approve sending thousands more.
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