Trump is letting Defense Secretary James Mattis autonomously decide troop levels in Afghanistan

Defense Secretary James Mattis, commander in chief?
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Trump is the commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces, but he's increasingly letting his defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis, run America's wars. Following his decision in April to give Mattis authority to decide troop levels in Iraq and Syria, Trump extended that authority to the war in Afghanistan on Tuesday, The New York Times reports. The White House is expected to announce the decision on Wednesday, a U.S. official tells The Wall Street Journal. Trump has also handed Mattis broad authority over strikes in Yemen and Somalia.

The U.S. and NATO allies invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to oust the Taliban, which had sheltered the Al Qaeda perpetrators of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Some 13,000 U.S. and NATO troops are still fighting the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and the Islamic State, mostly by advising embattled Afghan forces. U.S. military commanders have requested 3,000 to 5,000 more U.S. troops for Afghanistan, and Mattis has signaled that he will comply. "The Taliban had a good year last year, and they're trying to have a good one this year," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. "Right now, I believe the enemy is surging," and the U.S. is "not winning."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.