{"id":30662,"date":"2017-09-11T17:37:20","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T17:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/11\/democrats-to-press-trumps-pick-afghanistan-ambassador-over-vague-strategy-troop-increases\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:34:57","slug":"democrats-to-press-trumps-pick-afghanistan-ambassador-over-vague-strategy-troop-increases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2017\/09\/11\/democrats-to-press-trumps-pick-afghanistan-ambassador-over-vague-strategy-troop-increases\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats to press Trump&#8217;s pick for US ambassador to Afghanistan over vague strategy, troop increases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Democratic lawmakers plan to grill President Trump\u2019s pick for U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan over the administration\u2019s vague plans, including the possibility of deploying more troops there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s selection for the post \u2014 John Bass, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey \u2014 would be the face of American diplomacy where the U.S. has been at war since shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump, after months of deliberation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/news\/2017\/08\/22\/trump-afghanistan-strategy-calls-for-more-troops-regional-pressure\/\">in a speech Aug. 21<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The committee\u2019s ranking member, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and other Democrats have assailed Trump for his lack of specificity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s unclear the end-game on troop strength, and that for me has been a problem with the Trump administration; We don\u2019t have a clear policy,\u201d Cardin said. \u201cI understand the desire to have additional troops to meet that mission. What I don\u2019t know is whether that is part of a plan to increase our overall military strength in Afghanistan\u2014which I am opposed to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2017\/08\/30\/china-india-pakistan-face-fallout-from-us-strategy-for-afghanistan\/\">China, India, Pakistan face fallout from US strategy for Afghanistan<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuesday\u2019s hearing follows the Pentagon\u2019s revelation last month there are 11,000 American troops in Afghanistan, 2,600 more than it previously acknowledged. It comes a week after senior administration officials, including Defense Secretary Mattis, held a classified briefing for members of Congress on Afghanistan that fleshed out Trump\u2019s strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Likely the hearing will be dominated by questions for Trump\u2019s pick for undersecretary of state for management, top GOP budget aide Eric Ueland. While the administration has sought to shrink and reorganize the State Department, Democrats and Republicans have ripped the president\u2019s diplomacy and development budget requests as grossly inadequate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cardin said he would questions what he has called a mismatch between the State Department and Defense Department budgets\u2014which has reversed American leadership abroad and demoralized the diplomatic workforce. Plus, any efforts to manage post-conflict Iraq and Afghanistan appear underfunded, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey cut the budget on post-conflict, and you\u2019re trying to end an open conflict where you don\u2019t have the funds in there to provide the stability afterwards, you\u2019re going to be right back in terrorist safe havens,\u201d Cardin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><font><font>[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2017\/08\/26\/pakistans-trump-card-over-trumps-afghanistan-strategy\/\">Pakistan&#8217;s trump card over Trump&#8217;s Afghanistan strategy<\/a>]<\/font><\/font><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another member of the committee, Sen. Patrick Murphy, D-Conn., shared Cardin\u2019s concerns, saying it was unclear how the U.S. emerges from Afghanistan with a \u201cgutted\u201d State Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can understand how the increase in troop size can make difference, but not if you have no funds at the State Department to help continue the political transition,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cThis is a military surge without a diplomatic or political surge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conservatives, on the other hand, have praised the administration\u2019s strategy for placing more pressure on Pakistan. Ties between Islamabad and Washington have grown tense since Trump accused it of sheltering militants who battle U.S. forces across the border in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s a few thousand troops, but it puts Pakistan on notice; If you\u2019re supporting terrorists who kill Americans and go back to the Pakistan side, we\u2019re going to hold you accountable,\u201d said South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. \u201cYou need an ambassador who can hold people\u2019s feet to the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/08\/22\/lawmakers-react-to-trumps-afghanistan-plan-with-praise-skepticism\/\">Lawmakers react to Trump&#8217;s Afghanistan plan with praise, skepticism<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><font><font><font><font><font><font><font>Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has announced plans for a September hearing on the administration\u2019s Afghanistan strategy. Though he voiced faith in Mattis, he wants the administration to provide more details about how it will accomplish its plans.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMattis had a pretty good outline, but there\u2019s a lot of things we\u2019ve got to do to implement that strategy,\u201d McCain said of the recent briefing to lawmakers. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to increase troops, we\u2018re going to have to change the rules of engagement, training. There\u2019s a whole lot of things besides just additional troops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic lawmakers plan to grill President Trump\u2019s pick for U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan over the administration\u2019s vague plans, including the possibility of deploying more 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