With so much attention constantly focused on President Trump, it’s easy to forget about his very capable Vice President, Mike Pence.
Pence was a fantastic pick for VP, as he himself was as qualified as any Republican that ran for the presidency in 2016. With Pence, we can be at ease over any potential successions of power, and be confident he’ll provide real value to the administration in his role. With Trump currently busy on the domestic front, dealing with issues like the recent betrayal at the UN, Pence slipped out of the country to pay a visit to a war-torn nation.
As reported at the New York Post, VP Pence made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Thursday to meet with Afghan leaders and see some of the US troops stationed there.
The secret visit comes only 4 months after Trump presented a new military strategy aimed at breaking the long-standing stalemate in in the war, which is now America’s longest ever, now in its 16th year.
Pence arrived, unsurprisingly, under heavy security at Bagram Air Base, the largest US military installation in the country. From there, he was taken to Kabul via helicopter to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. After talking with Ghani, Pence then returned to the base, where he gave a speech to a gathering of US troops. He was then briefed on the state of affairs by military leaders, including the top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson.
The point of the trip was to see how Trump’s new strategy was faring. In August, the new approach was put into place, and it’s a more aggressive, “fight to win” way of doing business.
The president has urged the US to shift away from a “time-based” approach to the protracted conflict by linking US assistance to results and cooperation from the Afghan government, Pakistan, and other partners. Thus, giving these nations incentives to get their acts together and start carrying more of the load when it comes to protecting themselves from the terrorist infesting their borders.
At least 15,000 US forces are in Afghanistan after Trump decided to send about 3,800 troops to the country this fall to bolster the US’ ability to effectively advise Afghan forces and conduct counter-terrorism missions.
With several hundred more Army trainers expected to be deployed early next year, the number of US forces in Afghanistan could climb to nearly 16,000. The war in Afghanistan has been relegated to the back-pages in recent years, as the fighting is no longer as fierce as it once was. However, there’s still much work to be done before we can begin labeling the war completed or a success. Hopefully, this shift in strategy will help the US finally finish the job and bring our troops home for good.
Source: New York Post