WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers on Monday praised President Donald Trump’s new Afghanistan strategy as a step towards victory in the nearly 16-year-old war, but Democratic critics said they heard few details and little real change in the new plan.
“He was very vague,” said Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., in a statement. “The repeated delays and mixed messages President Trump has sent regarding the U.S. commitment to stability and security in Afghanistan have harmed our credibility with our Afghan partners, NATO coalition members, and other countries.”
Trump’s plan — unveiled Monday night before a crowd of troops at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia — called for sending more U.S. and NATO forces to Afghanistan, more pressure on local and regional leaders to increase their responsibilities in the fight, and a conditions-based approach for withdrawing forces.
But the commander-in-chief also stated that “we will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities” and called it “counterproductive” to publicly discuss many details.
Senate lawmakers will push for more information in coming weeks. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., announced plans for a September hearing on the issue.
Still, he praised Trump’s plan as “taking a big step in the right direction” for Afghanistan.
“The unfortunate truth is that this strategy is long overdue, and in the interim, the Taliban has made dangerous inroads,” he said. “Nevertheless, I believe the president is now moving us well beyond the prior administration’s failed strategy of merely postponing defeat.”
McCain’s counterpart, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, offered similar support.
“(Trump) has set out a reasonable way ahead that begins with being honest about the requirements needed to win, and the challenges in the region,” he said. “He is clear-eyed about the complexities of the mission and is giving our Commanders the resources they need to be successful.”
Thornberry also said the new strategy should serve as a wake-up call for lawmakers to “provide timely and adequate funding for this vital mission,” a theme echoed by several Republicans still struggling to lift defense spending caps put in place by Congress in 2011.
“President Trump’s announcement this evening makes it even more clear that Congress must act as soon as possible to repeal the sequestration of defense in order to appropriately fund our military,” said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio. “Maintaining a budgetary fiction at odds with the realities of the missions our men and women in uniform are asked to perform is irresponsible.”
In his speech, Trump admitted he has considered a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan during his review of the fight there. Members of his party praised him from backing away from that idea, even as the war approaches its 17th year.
“Now is not the time to abandon our fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, its people or our international partners,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, an Iraq War veteran. “Instead, we must once again lead from a position of strength.”
Democrats were more skeptical. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. and one of the most vocal critics of the wars overseas, said she was “deeply troubled” by Trump’s plan.
“After sixteen years at war, one thing is clear: there is no military solution in Afghanistan,” she said. “ Any lasting peace in Afghanistan must be secured through diplomacy. Further military engagement will only put our brave servicemen and women in harm’s way while doing little to enhance our national security.”
Reed also pushed for “more attention and resources on diplomatic efforts,” criticizing Trump’s plans to cut State Department funding as short-sighted. “It is imperative for the United States to work with our partners to boost diplomacy, maintain international cooperation, and take a comprehensive, regional approach to Afghanistan.”
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the basic outline offered by Trump Monday isn’t detailed enough to address lingering questions about the mission there.
“The president needs to outline specific strategies for attaining the highly elusive goal of eliminating the threats from the Taliban, ISIS, and other terrorist organizations,” he said. “This should include the number of troops he plans to deploy and why they will be sufficient to achieve the objectives and missions they are assigned.”
Congress is scheduled to return to legislative work in early September.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
