{"id":46164,"date":"2017-08-22T11:51:41","date_gmt":"2017-08-22T11:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/22\/lawmakers-react-to-trumps-afghanistan-plan-with-praise-skepticism\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:33:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:33:44","slug":"lawmakers-react-to-trumps-afghanistan-plan-with-praise-skepticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2017\/08\/22\/lawmakers-react-to-trumps-afghanistan-plan-with-praise-skepticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers react to Trump’s Afghanistan plan with praise, skepticism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Monday, President Donald Trump laid out goals for the war in Afghanistan. He said he will not announce dates or troop levels but “from now on victory will have a clear definition.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Republican lawmakers on Monday praised President Donald Trump\u2019s new Afghanistan strategy as a step towards victory in the nearly 16-year-old war, but Democratic critics said they heard few details and little real change in the new plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was very vague,\u201d said Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., in a statement. \u201cThe repeated delays and mixed messages President Trump has sent regarding the U.S. commitment to stability and security in Afghanistan have harmed our credibility with our Afghan partners, NATO coalition members, and other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s plan \u2014 unveiled Monday night before a crowd of troops at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia \u2014 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

But the commander-in-chief also stated that \u201cwe will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities\u201d and called it \u201ccounterproductive\u201d to publicly discuss many details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate lawmakers will push for more information in coming weeks. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., announced plans for a September hearing on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, he praised Trump\u2019s plan as \u201ctaking a big step in the right direction\u201d for Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe unfortunate truth is that this strategy is long overdue, and in the interim, the Taliban has made dangerous inroads,\u201d he said. \u201cNevertheless, I believe the president is now moving us well beyond the prior administration\u2019s failed strategy of merely postponing defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCain\u2019s counterpart, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, offered similar support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(Trump) has set out a reasonable way ahead that begins with being honest about the requirements needed to win, and the challenges in the region,\u201d he said. \u201cHe is clear-eyed about the complexities of the mission and is giving our Commanders the resources they need to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thornberry also said the new strategy should serve as a wake-up call for lawmakers to \u201cprovide timely and adequate funding for this vital mission,\u201d a theme echoed by several Republicans still struggling to lift defense spending caps put in place by Congress in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s announcement this evening makes it even more clear that Congress must act as soon as possible to repeal the sequestration of defense in order to appropriately fund our military,\u201d said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio. \u201cMaintaining a budgetary fiction at odds with the realities of the missions our men and women in uniform are asked to perform is irresponsible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his speech, Trump admitted he has considered a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan during his review of the fight there. Members of his party praised him from backing away from that idea, even as the war approaches its 17th year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow is not the time to abandon our fight against terrorism in Afghanistan, its people or our international partners,\u201d said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, an Iraq War veteran. \u201cInstead, we must once again lead from a position of strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats were more skeptical. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. and one of the most vocal critics of the wars overseas, said she was \u201cdeeply troubled\u201d by Trump\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter sixteen years at war, one thing is clear: there is no military solution in Afghanistan,\u201d she said. \u201c Any lasting peace in Afghanistan must be secured through diplomacy. Further military engagement will only put our brave servicemen and women in harm\u2019s way while doing little to enhance our national security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reed also pushed for \u201cmore attention and resources on diplomatic efforts,\u201d criticizing Trump\u2019s plans to cut State Department funding as short-sighted. \u201cIt is imperative for the United States to work with our partners to boost diplomacy, maintain international cooperation, and take a comprehensive, regional approach to Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the basic outline offered by Trump Monday isn\u2019t detailed enough to address lingering questions about the mission there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe president needs to outline specific strategies for attaining the highly elusive goal of eliminating the threats from the Taliban, ISIS, and other terrorist organizations,\u201d he said. \u201cThis should include the number of troops he plans to deploy and why they will be sufficient to achieve the objectives and missions they are assigned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress is scheduled to return to legislative work in early September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n