Small Wars Journal

Amid Little Scrutiny, U.S. Military Ramps Up in Afghanistan

Sat, 03/10/2018 - 1:46pm

Amid Little Scrutiny, U.S. Military Ramps Up in Afghanistan by Robert Burns – AP

The U.S. is adding military advisers and combat aircraft as part of President Donald Trump's new Afghanistan war strategy, but Congress appears to be paying little attention.

It's not clear the war is going as well as the administration had hoped, seven months after Trump announced his approach.

The picture may be clearer once the traditionally most intensive fighting season begins in April or May.

A weak central government in Kabul and the resilient Taliban insurgency aren't the U.S. military's only problems there. It also faces what the top U.S. general overseeing the war calls interference by Russia.

He's told Congress that Moscow is seeking to undermine U.S. and NATO influence in Afghanistan by exaggerating the presence of Islamic State fighters there and portraying this as a U.S. failure…

Read on.