The outgoing commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that the South Asia Strategy put in place a year ago by President Donald Trump is not only working, it’s bringing the 17-year war to its closest reconciliation point yet.
“The strategy is working,” Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of NATO’s Resolute Support mission, told reporters. “Reconciliation progress is significant, and ultimately, wars end with a political settlement. So the progress toward reconciliation is key.”
As part of Trump’s strategy, the U.S. has increased its troop presence from 8,400 in the final months of President Barack Obama’s term to about 16,000 today, according to congressional statistics cited by Military Times.
By nearly doubling the number of U.S. troops in the region, the Taliban knows it will not be able to overwhelm Afghan forces and now must consider a negotiated peace.
“We were on a glide path to reduce our forces, and eventually to close down the mission,” said Nicholson, who was appointed by Obama. “At that time, the enemy had no incentive to negotiate, because we were leaving … the enemy believed we had lost our will to win. And all they needed to do was wait us out.”
“We have an unprecedented opportunity for peace now,” Nicholson added. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]A former U.S. intelligence officer specializing in the Middle East says the post “caliphate” Islamic State has morphed into a more traditional terrorist organization and is currently seeking out “high value targets.”
Meanwhile, a new United Nations report issued late last month finds there are somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 ISIS fighters remaining in Iraq and Syria.
“ISIS 2.0 is the al Qaeda model. That’s what we’re seeing now,” Middle East expert Michael Pregent told The Washington Times. “We’re seeing ISIS operate as a traditional terror organization.”
Pregent — a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute — served as a U.S. Army intelligence officer in Iraq and Afghanistan and held multiple positions in U.S. Central Command, specializing in terrorism and counterterrorism.
The expert believes that ISIS has shifted into an “intel gathering period and they’re looking for high value targets.” – READ MORE
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