News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
21
o
Mount Lebanon
21
o
Metn
22
o
Keserwan
22
o
North
22
o
South
21
o
Bekaa
19
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
La Ekher EL Omr
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
21
o
Mount Lebanon
21
o
Metn
22
o
Keserwan
22
o
North
22
o
South
21
o
Bekaa
19
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
REPORT: Trump commits US. to open-ended Afghanistan war; Taliban vow 'graveyard'
Author:
Nicole Hajal
Breaking Headlines
2017-08-22 | 07:50
High views
Share
Share
REPORT: Trump commits US. to open-ended Afghanistan war; Taliban vow 'graveyard'
6
min
REPORT: Trump commits US. to open-ended Afghanistan war; Taliban vow 'graveyard'
President Donald Trump committed U.S. troops to an open-ended war in Afghanistan, a decision the Afghan government welcomed on Tuesday but which Taliban insurgents warned would make the country a "graveyard for the American empire".
Trump offered few specifics in a speech on Monday but promised a stepped-up military campaign against the Taliban who have gained ground against U.S.-backed Afghan government forces. He also singled out Pakistan for harboring militants in safe havens on its soil, an accusation it denies.
While Trump said he would not discuss troop levels or details of the new strategy, U.S. officials said on Monday he had signed off on Defense Secretary James Mattis' plans to send about 4,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Trump said "my original instinct was to pull out" all American troops but he was convinced by his military advisers after a lengthy review of the United States' longest war.
"The consequences of a rapid exit are both predictable and unacceptable," he said. "A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and al Qaeda, would instantly fill."
While Trump said "our troops will fight to win", he also stressed that ultimately Afghanistan's police and army must to most of the fighting to defeat the Taliban and allied Islamist militants.
"The stronger the Afghan security forces become, the less we will have to do. ... We want them to succeed."
Most of the approximately 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan work with a NATO-led training and advising mission, with the rest part of a counter-terrorism force that mostly targets pockets of al Qaeda and Islamic State fighters.
NO TIMELINES
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the strategy saying it would expand the training mission for Afghan forces, which includes building its fledgling air force and doubling the size of the Afghan special forces.
"I am grateful to President Trump and the American people for this affirmation of support ... for our joint struggle to rid the region from the threat of terrorism," Ghani said in a statement.
The Taliban swiftly condemned Trump's decision.
"If the U.S. does not pull all its forces out of Afghanistan, we will make this country the 21st century graveyard for the American empire," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
U.S.-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban's hard-line Islamist government in late 2001 over its sheltering of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in U.S. cities that killed nearly 2,000 people.
But U.S. forces have been bogged down ever since in a war that has vexed three presidents. About 2,400 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan.
Trump, who had criticized his predecessor for setting deadlines for drawing down troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, declined to put a timeline on expanded U.S. operations in Afghanistan.
Former President Barack Obama's deadlines for troop decreases brought the U.S. military footprint from about 100,000 in 2011 to 8,400.
"Our future presence will be based on conditions and not arbitrary timelines," the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, said in a statement.
'NO BLANK CHECK'
Trump warned on Monday that U.S. support "is not a blank check" for Afghanistan's often-divided and corruption-plagued government and insisted he would not engage in "nation-building," a practice he has accused his predecessors of doing at huge cost.
Trump insisted in his speech that the Afghan government, Pakistan, India, and NATO allies step up their own commitment to resolving the 16-year conflict.
"We can no longer be silent about Pakistan's safe havens," he said, referring to complaints that Taliban and other militants move freely in Pakistan.
Pakistan's foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment, but on Monday Pakistani army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said: "There are no terrorist hideouts in Pakistan".
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Fox News the rules of engagement were being changed "so that American commanders on the ground can make real-time decisions" and the United States would continue to target militants' safe havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much more to lose by supporting terrorists. The president has put them on notice," Pence said in an editorial in USA Today.
Trump also said he had expanded the U.S. military's authority for its forces to target militant and criminal networks, warning "that no place is beyond the reach of American arms".
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told CNN that Trumps strategy for Afghanistan included decisions that are very different from anything that's happened before.
"What we are focused on is results, stomping out terrorism, doing whatever it takes, she said. You've seen the president do this with ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Now were getting ready to do it in Afghanistan.
U.S. Air Force Major Daniel Lindsey, an F-16 pilot who watched Trump's speech at the sprawling Bagram Air Field outside Kabul said he and his colleagues were now waiting for details of the changes.
REUTERS
To watch the full report, please click on the video above.
Breaking Headlines
Taliban
Trump
US
Afghanistan
Next
Grand Mufti Derian travels to Saudi Arabia for Hajj
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
Middle East News
2024-04-25
Over 430 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on third day of Passover holiday: Al Jazeera reports
Middle East News
2024-04-25
Over 430 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on third day of Passover holiday: Al Jazeera reports
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-23
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
Lebanon News
2024-04-23
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
World News
2023-10-15
US State Department expresses condolences for the passing of journalist Giselle Khoury
World News
2023-10-15
US State Department expresses condolences for the passing of journalist Giselle Khoury
0
News Bulletin Reports
12:28
Lebanon faces the imminent risk of being placed on the FATF grey list by late May
News Bulletin Reports
12:28
Lebanon faces the imminent risk of being placed on the FATF grey list by late May
0
World News
2024-04-27
Russia Extends Requirement for Major Exporters to Convert Revenues into Rubles
World News
2024-04-27
Russia Extends Requirement for Major Exporters to Convert Revenues into Rubles
0
Middle East News
2024-02-25
Israeli strike near Syrian-Lebanese border claims lives of two Hezbollah members, reports SOHR
Middle East News
2024-02-25
Israeli strike near Syrian-Lebanese border claims lives of two Hezbollah members, reports SOHR
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
0
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
0
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
0
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Variety and Tech
05:15
Lebanese director Nadine Labaki to join Cannes Film Festival 2024 jury
Variety and Tech
05:15
Lebanese director Nadine Labaki to join Cannes Film Festival 2024 jury
2
Israel-Gaza War Updates
00:53
Hamas official to AFP: 'No major issues' in movement's comments on ceasefire proposal
Israel-Gaza War Updates
00:53
Hamas official to AFP: 'No major issues' in movement's comments on ceasefire proposal
3
Lebanon News
05:55
Fadlallah: Any external initiative aiming to relieve the enemy is doomed to fail
Lebanon News
05:55
Fadlallah: Any external initiative aiming to relieve the enemy is doomed to fail
4
Lebanon News
03:53
Bilal Abdallah to LBCI: No significant Western action to curb Israeli aggression in south Lebanon
Lebanon News
03:53
Bilal Abdallah to LBCI: No significant Western action to curb Israeli aggression in south Lebanon
5
Lebanon News
05:44
Jordan and France coordinate efforts for Gaza and Lebanon peace
Lebanon News
05:44
Jordan and France coordinate efforts for Gaza and Lebanon peace
6
Israel-Gaza War Updates
09:44
British Foreign Minister: Proposal submitted to Hamas includes ceasefire in Gaza for 40 days
Israel-Gaza War Updates
09:44
British Foreign Minister: Proposal submitted to Hamas includes ceasefire in Gaza for 40 days
7
Middle East News
07:10
Saudi FM: Bilateral agreements with US 'in the near future'
Middle East News
07:10
Saudi FM: Bilateral agreements with US 'in the near future'
8
Israel-Gaza War Updates
09:54
US military's pier in Gaza to cost $320 million
Israel-Gaza War Updates
09:54
US military's pier in Gaza to cost $320 million
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More