3,000 additional US troops on their way to Afghanistan

More than 3,000 additional US troops are on their way to Afghanistan in line with President Donald Trump’s new strategy, media reports said on Tuesday. Defense Secretary James Mattis told a news conference at the Pentagon he had signed the order to send more troops to the war-torn country at the end of last month. Mattis did not give precise numbers but said he was sending “over 3,000” troops to Afghanistan. Some 11,000 American forces are already stationed in the country. ‘Most of them are on their way or under orders now,’ Mattis said, ‘and I’d prefer not to give any more information that helps the enemy.’ Top military brass at the Pentagon have been calling the current situation in Afghanistan a ‘stalemate,’ and asking for more troops. The decision to send in more troops caps President Donald Trump’s change of heart on how to deal with the Afghanistan conflict, America’s longest war. Before his election last year, candidate Trump had routinely called for a full U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.