Why the US continues to lose the Afghan war, according to Gen. Keane
U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan could be putting Defense Secretary James Mattis and President Trump at odds over deploying additional troops to the region.
Earlier this year, Trump left the door open for future military personnel increases by authorizing Mattis to set troop levels in Afghanistan. However, the president could be reconsidering a different strategy that doesn’t involve the deployment of more troops to Afghanistan, much to the dismay of the Defense Secretary.
In an interview with FOX Business’ Stuart Varney, retired Gen. Jack Keane said the U.S. continues to lose the war in Afghanistan and suggested the option for more troops should be considered.
“The war in Afghanistan is not going well to the point where we are actually losing. The Taliban have operational momentum, they have initiative, they win most of the battles they are in,” he said.
The four star general said the U.S. military should adopt a strategy he introduced to President George W. Bush during the Iraq war where the military would first understand why it’s losing to appreciate how to win the war.
“I find that the best way to deal with something like this is actually to put on the table, why are we losing? Put that down first and then talk about what we need to do to change that,” Keane said.
According to Keane, the U.S. is losing the Afghan war due to lack of adequate resources during the years of 2003-2008. He added that the Obama administration shorted U.S. commanders with troops by 25% and pulled the forces out months later.
When asked if the retired general would put more troops in Afghanistan, Keane said, “absolutely but I put in considerably more than they are recommending to train and assist will not be decisive.”