Trump's speech on the Afghanistan War earns praise from Kabul

While President Trump's speech on his way forward in the Afghanistan War received mixed praise at home, the Afghanistan government deemed it a "10 out of 10" on Tuesday, The Associated Press reports. Afghan Ambassador to the U.S. Hamdullah Mohib said his fellow countrymen had heard "exactly what we needed to" from Trump and the U.S.

Trump on Monday said the United States military is "not nation-building again. We are killing terrorists." He additionally did not set a timetable for withdrawing troops, instead using a conditions-based approach, and he decided against further revealing the number of troops on the ground in the country or announcing upcoming military actions.

Mohib also praised Trump's decision to "[break] the silence" on Pakistan. Trump claimed the country has "much to gain" by working with the U.S. in Afghanistan, and "much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists."

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At The Week, Damon Linker writes that Trump's speech commits "the United States to a few more years of madness in Afghanistan" and David Faris claims "in all likelihood, we are headed toward another disastrous troop surge that will end the way every previous attempt to 'win' in Afghanistan has ended: in failure."