Confused and Troubling Afghanistan Speech
By Amy Davidson Sorkin
10:55 A.M.
... After questioning Pakistan’s "commitment to civilization," he said that, in Afghanistan and Pakistan, "we must stop the resurgence of save havens” and “prevent nuclear weapons from coming into the hands of terrorists" — a possibility specific to Pakistan, which has more than a hundred nuclear bombs within reach of a military whose officers often have dubious allegiances. (Afghanistan has no such weapons.) Trump continued, "To prosecute this war, we will learn from history." Perhaps he will, but could Americans at least have learned, from his speech, which country, or countries, he plans to wage "this war" in?
... The entire speech was a tirade against boundaries and borders and the systems of accountability that are meant to keep America from getting involved in unending wars conducted in manners that later make us ashamed. Its most extraordinary line may have come as he described how American strategy "in Afghanistan and South Asia" will "dramatically change" in the coming days: "We will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities." There are, in any war, secret deployments and operations, but Trump is enshrining the idea of secret wars, with secretly mustered armies ...
... differentiating between the micro and the macro has never been one of Trump’s strengths. And a lack of leadership, including moral leadership, can lose not only battles but wars. Trump said that he had already "lifted restrictions" on what troops could do in the field, and would lift more, so that they had ever greater power to act "in real time, with real authority." It is hard to know exactly what this will mean, given that American forces already have a great deal of leeway. A certain number of restraints involve concern for the lives of civilians. Even with those now in place, there have been incidents like the American air strike, in 2015, that hit a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing forty-two people and cutting off access to medical care for many more. If Trump cannot see how these are not only tragedies but moments that turn populations against the United States, we may see a very long war get longer and more brutal ...
... There was no call, in Trump’s speech, for any sort of action or affirmation by Congress ... Congress, which is supposed to declare wars, bears a great deal of responsibility for this continued open-endedness. People in both parties have realized for years that the evolution of the A.U.M.F. into, essentially, a multi-country war pass is a problem, but they haven’t really done anything about it. Trump said, "These killers need to know they have nowhere to hide, that no place is beyond the reach of American might and Americans arms." It is worth asking if he imagines that there is any place beyond the reach of his current, unaugmented authority to wage a protracted war ...
http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson-sorkin/trumps-confused-and-troubling-afghanistan-speech