In a speech with few details, Trump did not specify how many more troops would be added, gave no timeline for ending the US presence in Afghanistan, and put pressure on Pakistan, India and Nato allies to step up their own commitment. A US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Islamist Taliban government for harboring al Qaeda militants who plotted the Sept. 11 attacks. But US forces have remained bogged down there through the presidencies of Republican George W Bush, Democrat Barack Obama and now Trump. The Republican president overcame his own scepticism about the war that began in October 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the United States. Trump said it could be possible to have a political settlement with elements of the Taliban.

Source: Dhaka Tribune August 22, 2017 03:00 UTC