{"id":38927,"date":"2017-08-10T15:41:39","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T15:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/10\/mccain-offers-afghanistan-strategy-amid-trumps-indecision\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:03:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:03:43","slug":"mccain-offers-afghanistan-strategy-amid-trumps-indecision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2017\/08\/10\/mccain-offers-afghanistan-strategy-amid-trumps-indecision\/","title":{"rendered":"McCain offers Afghanistan strategy amid Trump\u2019s indecision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain has announced his own strategy for the war in Afghanistan, he says, because the Trump administration is lagging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling America \u201cadrift in Afghanistan,\u201d McCain is offering a civil-military strategy that adds more U.S. counterterror troops and more pressure on Pakistan to not provide sanctuary to the Taliban and Haqqani network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counterterror troops would maintain an enduring presence, per a proposed agreement with the Afghan government. The U.S. would also provide air power and troops to advise Afghan forces at kandak, or battalion, level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCain, R-Ariz., announced Thursday he would offer the strategy as an amendment to the 2018 defense policy bill. He is undergoing cancer treatment but has said he plans to spearhead the bill when Congress resumes in early September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201csense of Congress\u201d amendment is nonbinding, but, if adopted, it would send a signal from the legislative branch to the White House. It comes as restless lawmakers have rapped U.S. President Donald Trump for his blustery rhetoric on North Korea, called for a new debate on a war authorization and demanded Trump provide plans for the fight against the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis promised Congress in June<\/a> he would deliver a new military strategy for Afghanistan by mid-July. At the time, McCain warned him that absent a strategy from the administration, \u201cyou\u2019re going to get a strategy from us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump has questioned his generals about whether the 16-year-old effort to stabilize Afghanistan is still worth it, and is said to be mulling a replacement for the top U.S. commander there, Gen. John Nicholson, Politico reported Thursday<\/a>. That, and Trump\u2019s failure to approve a plan there, has reportedly inhibited allies and commanders there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerica is adrift in Afghanistan,\u201d McCain said in a statement. \u201cThe thousands of Americans putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan deserve better from their commander-in-chief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. is losing in Afghanistan and losing the initiative, McCain said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need an integrated civil-military approach to bolster U.S. counterterrorism efforts, strengthen the capability and capacity of the Afghan government and security forces, and intensify diplomatic efforts to facilitate a negotiated peace process in Afghanistan in cooperation with regional partners,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For McCain \u2014 one of Trump\u2019s sharpest critics in the GOP \u2014 it marked the second time in days that he rapped Trump on national security matters. McCain cautioned Trump to watch his words<\/a> on North Korea and questioned his resolve to act there militarily after Trump promised \u201cfire and fury\u201d in the ongoing standoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\t