Tuesday, August 22, 2017
By
Web Desk

Key points of Trump's agenda for Afghanistan

By
Web Desk
|
US President Donald Trump. Photo: File

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday outlined his plan for the 16-year US war in Afghanistan declaring that the US strategy in the region will dramatically change.

Here is Trump’s five-point agenda for Afghanistan:

Troops deployed

Outlining his five-point agenda for the new strategy, Trump said the US will no longer discuss timetables for military actions, nor the number of troops on the ground.

“Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables will guide our strategy from now on,” he said in his address.

No more “nation-building”

Announcing a huge shift from the country’s policy on offensive attacks under the Obama administration, Trump said America’s enemies must ‘never know our plans, or believe they can wait us out.’

“I will not say when we are going to attack, but attack we will,” Trump said, adding that the country will not participate in “nation-building” in Afghanistan.

“We will not dictate the Afghan people how to live, or how to govern their own complex society,” he said. “We are not nation-building again...we are killing terrorists.”

Allegations on Pakistan

Trump called on Pakistan to be a partner and stop harbouring “criminals and terrorists.”

“We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists we are fighting, but that will have to change,” he said.

Changing role of India

He asked India to help with America’s Afghanistan strategy stating, “India makes billions of dollars in trade with the US, and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan especially in the area of economic assistance and development.”

Increased military autonomy

Trump said he will continue to empower the military.

“Micromanagement from Washington DC doesn’t win battles,” he said. “They are won in the field, drawing upon the judgement and expertise of wartime commanders and front-line soldiers acting in real time with real authority, and with a clear mission to defeat the enemy.”

Conditional support

He said the US will continue to support the Afghan government “as long as we see determination and progress.”

“However, our commitment is not unlimited and our support is not a blank check,” Trump added.