AFGHANISTAN/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “To understand the Trump administration’s struggle to agree on a strategy to reverse the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, it’s useful first to look back in time.
In early 2013, Donald Trump tweeted: ‘We should leave Afghanistan immediately. No more wasted lives.’ Early the following year, when President Barack Obama was trying to withdraw virtually all American combat troops, he tweeted: ‘I agree with Pres. Obama on Afghanistan. We should have a speedy withdrawal. Why should we keep wasting our money — rebuild the U.S.!’
Thus, when Mr. Trump argues, as officials say he has in meetings, that the U.S. is ‘losing’ in Afghanistan, that isn’t a new thought. When he appears conflicted about sending in more troops to reverse Taliban gains there, that reflects his longstanding doubts about a prolonged American presence there.
And when administration officials argue that Mr. Obama made a serious mistake by publicly declaring he would withdraw American troops by the end of 2014, helping open the door for a Taliban resurgence, they are probably right. But that was a decision that private citizen Donald Trump openly cheered.”
-Gerald F. Seib, “In Afghan Policy Debate, Trump Struggles With Himself,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 7, 2017 11:48am