McCain offers new strategy to 'turn the tide' in Afghanistan

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) has filed legislation proposing a new U.S. strategy for the 16-year war in Afghanistan and also rebuked the Trump administration for failing to provide one.

The legislation, which McCain offered as an amendment to the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill, expresses a "sense of Congress" that the United States must pursue a new strategy in Afghanistan that would, among other things, put an unnamed number of additional U.S. troops on the ground.

"America is adrift in Afghanistan," McCain, who is in Arizona undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer, said in a statement.

"President Obama's 'don't lose' strategy has put us on a path to achieving the opposite result," he continued. "Now, nearly seven months into President Trump's administration, we've had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened. The thousands of Americans putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan deserve better from their commander-in-chief."

The stated goal of McCain's proposed strategy is to ensure Afghanistan never again becomes a haven for terrorist groups.

"Adopting a new strategy for achieving America's national security interests in Afghanistan is a decision of the highest importance, one that should be subjected to rigorous scrutiny and debate within our government," he said. "But we must face facts: we are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide."

The amendment makes no mention of McCain's desired number of U.S. troops for Afghanistan.

During a February 10 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Army Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, told lawmakers he had a shortfall of "a few thousand" troops to train and assist the Afghan military.

The United States has about 8,400 reported troops in Afghanistan, alongside 5,000 coalition forces from U.S. allies.

Meanwhile, McCain's amendment is calling for an integrated civil-military approach to bolster counterterrorism operations, providing "sustained support" to the Afghan government and security forces, and strengthen diplomatic efforts to help negotiate peace between the nation's warring factions.