Trump at Camp David for Talks on Afghan StrategyNewsmax, Aug 18, 2017
US President Donald Trump assembled his national security team at the Camp David presidential retreat Friday to forge a way ahead in Afghanistan, almost 16 years after the war began.
Trump must decide if he wants to continue on the current course, which relies on a relatively small US-led NATO force to help Afghan partners push back the Taliban, or if he wants to try a new tack such as adding more forces -- or even withdrawing altogether.
"Heading to Camp David for major meeting on National Security, the Border and the Military (which we are rapidly building to strongest ever)," Trump said on Twitter ahead of his Friday afternoon arrival.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had initially promised to provide a new plan for Afghanistan by mid-July.
But Trump appears dissatisfied by initial proposals to add a few thousand more troops, and the strategy has been expanded to include the broader South Asia region, notably Pakistan.
We are "coming very close to a decision, and I anticipate it in the very near future," Mattis told reporters Thursday.
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