During his campaign trail to the White House, Donald Trump promised not to invade countries like his predecessors did needlessly. But since he became president, many of his critics will no doubt view his threats to North Korea and his recent announcement that he will be sending 4,000 troops to Afghanistan as another example of his contradictory nature. But The President has made the right decision to deploy more soldiers there.
Last year, Donald Trump also promised to "bomb the s*** out of ISIS." Therefore, it was clear that anyone voting for him should have expected that some form of intervention in the Middle East was bound to happen if he was elected.
The President said during his speech on Afghanistan that he is not interested in nation-building by deploying more soldiers there. This was the grave mistake that George W. Bush and Barack Obama made in Iraq and Libya respectively. Even though the mainstream media have not interpreted the President's latest move as such, his decision represents the biggest shift from traditional US foreign policy since 1945.
President Trump is demonstrating how pragmatic he can be
His critics are wrong to suggest he has reneged on one of his campaign promises. President Trump is demonstrating how pragmatic he can be in certain circumstances. Obama made a fatal error in withdrawing troops from Afghanistan during his presidency.
That country is still hugely dependent on foreign aid and poverty remains rampant. For many Afghans, life does not seem to have dramatically improved since the removal of the Taliban in 2001. This regime remains strong and is gradually imposing medieval policies on many of its citizens. It is clear that the United States' job was not completed when the former president withdrew troops from there.
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon welcomed President Trump's choice to deploy more soldiers there, showing that international politicians are praising his decision. But the most important part of the President's speech that should be welcomed is his call not to engage in nation-building. Not every country that the United States has intervened in is capable of adopting the same constitution the latter has.
He would have achieved more success than his predecessors
When Bush liberated Iraq in 2003, media reports suggest the situation there has got worse there ever since. Iraq consists of three main groups (the Kurds, Sunnis, and Shi'ite Muslims) who cannot possibly live alongside each other peacefully unless a dictator like Saddam governs them. US interference has contributed towards the growth of ISIS.
If the President can send troops to Afghanistan with the single intention of helping the Afghan government combat terrorism and not interfere in their constitutional structure, he would have achieved more success than his predecessors did.
