Trump, team meet over Afghan security

President Donald Trump presided over a rare meeting of his full national security team Wednesday in the White House. The subject was the future of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan, and hovering over the discussion was a big question: How committed is the president to a long-term and costly American presence in the country?

Trump has said little about the war since taking office in January, but the debate over how to stabilize the country and reverse the Taliban’s momentum has divided officials in the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House in recent weeks.

The meeting Wednesday was to tee up decisions for the president in what has been a long and difficult policy review, said current and former U.S. officials.

Trump gave Defense Secretary Jim Mattis the authority more than a month ago to send as many as 3,900 more troops to Afghanistan on top of the roughly 8,500 currently there. But Mattis has yet to send additional forces until the administration can agree on a final strategy for Afghanistan, said U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing planning.

“He’s clearly being cautious about cashing that check,” said a former U.S. official who has participated in the administration debate. “Mattis is either not persuaded that there’s a strategic rationale for the troops or he’s not persuaded that the decision will ultimately fly with the president — or both.”

The meeting that Trump led in the White House did not focus on the size of the American force in Afghanistan but looked at America’s approach to the region and its strategy regarding Pakistan, which has provided a haven for the Taliban.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster and U.S. commanders in Afghanistan have pressed for a more punitive approach to Pakistan aimed at forcing it to cut ties to the Afghan Taliban.