The US President has stated that the American military will stay in Afghanistan for a longer time, but he didn't state how many soldiers he would send or how long they would stay. The American President was also tough with the Pakistani Government, he believes that Pakistan supports many militants who find a safe haven along the border with Afghanistan. Trump wants the Pakistani government to obey or it will have much to lose. The US President said at the Fort Myer speech that they are killing terrorists. He also wants to strengthen the Afghan forces and put more pressure on the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan to help more.
The British government has also sided with the United States, they want to strengthen democracy in that area.
More soldiers will be sent
The US government has already given authority to the Pentagon to send 4,000 soldiers more, there are already 8,400 soldiers in Afghanistan. Mike Pence, the US vice-president, stated that 3,900 soldiers more would be sent. James Mattis, the Defence Secretary, said that he would talk to NATO countries to increase the number of soldiers in that place. He stated that together they will destroy the terrorists. The US military wants to protect democracy in that area.
The British side with the American government
The British Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, agrees with the US Secretary Mattis.
Both want to strengthen the weak democracy in Afghanistan and reduce the terrorist threat. The British were involved in the Afghan war since 2001 until 2014, but there are currently 500 British soldiers in Afghanistan. They provide security in the capital, Kabul, and they also supply military training. The UK will send 85 soldiers by November, all the NATO countries have 13,000 soldiers in Afghanistan.
Rex Tillerson and Trump on the situation
The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, stated that the Taliban would not win on the battlefield and that the United States would support negotiations between Kabul and the Taliban without preconditions. This is the same policy that took place during the Obama administration. Donald Trump admitted that at first, he didn't plan to send more military forces to Afghanistan, but he gave three important reasons to do it: Honour the American military who have died there, stop Afghanistan from becoming a safe place for terrorists, and improve the situation in South Asia.
