Trump to unveil new Afghanistan strategy on Monday night

The White House said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump would address the nation on his Afghanistan strategy on Monday night.

According to a statement by the White House, in the televised speech on Monday at 9:00 p.m. local time, Trump will provide an update on the path forward for America's engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia, Xinhua reported.

Former US President Barack Obama had planned to reduce the current number of 9,800 US troops in Afghanistan to some 5,500 by the end of 2015 and withdraw all troops by the end of 2016 when his presidency came to an end.

However, given the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the Obama administration repeatedly postponed the withdrawal.

Currently, there are about 8,400 US troops and another 5,000 forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the ground in Afghanistan to train and assist the Afghan forces against the Taliban, and conduct counter-terrorism missions.

The new Afghanistan strategy comes at a time when senior US officials warned of a dire security situation in Afghanistan.

--IANS

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