Sources: Pence, McMaster team up to push more troops in Afghanistan
Source: Politico
By NAHAL TOOSI and ELIANA JOHNSON 08/18/2017 04:34 PM EDT Updated 08/18/2017 06:21 PM EDT
Cabinet members in favor of sending more troops to Afghanistan teamed up ahead of a high-level meeting on Friday to persuade President Donald Trump to step up American military involvement in the 16-year-old war, two sources told POLITICO.
Vice President Mike Pence and national security adviser H.R. McMaster rehearsed their pitch heading into the Camp David strategy session in an effort to persuade Trump to accept commanders' proposals to beef up the 8,400 American troops in the country, the sources said. But as of Friday evening, the president had not announced a decision on his plans for Afghanistan, where the Taliban has grown in strength and both Al Qaeda and the Islamic State terrorist groups have a foothold. And no announcement appeared imminent.
The two sources — an administration official and a senior White House aide — also confirmed that Erik Prince, the founder of the former Blackwater private security firm, had been scheduled to attend the session but that he was blocked at the last minute. The administration official said McMaster was the one who blocked Prince.
Prince has been urging the administration publicly and privately to outsource much of the war effort — which primarily involves training and advising Afghan security forces. Prince had the backing of Steve Bannon, who was ousted Friday from his role as the chief White House strategist.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/18/trump-afghanistan-troops-pence-mcmaster-241795
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