Donald Trump is the third US President committing yet more troops to the fight with the Taliban. The US and other nations have poured money, lives and military training into helping the Kabul government fight the insurgents yet today large sections of the country are back under Taliban control.
Helmand Province for example where many British troops were killed and injured is largely back under Taliban domination. Trump during his election campaign vowed to end America's entanglement in the Afghan Theatre Of Operations.
Trump has vowed to send 4,000 more troops to the country to take the lead in the war against the Islamic fighters.
The original plan to the let Afghan forces take the lead in the fighting it seems has not worked as well as some thought it would. This number of US troops coming into the country together with ones already there will take the number of US troops up to 8,400.
Meanwhile, Zabiullah Mujahid speaking for the Taliban said Trump's action in sending more troops seems "unclear" and will the group will need more time to examine Trump's plans and come up with a response.
16 years of conflict
The US war in Afghanistan is the longest war in US history and has cost US tax payers considerable sums of money to keep the war going. It has cost the lives of hundreds of troops and the loss of much American military hardware.
Both Obama and Trump were reluctant to participate in this war but Obama in his time and Trump are committing more men and women to the fight it seems.
Trump speaks of finally winning the war but the Afghan theatre of operations is not a conventional war. It is a guerilla war where powers from Alexander the Great to the British Empire and the Russians have fought and lost.
The Afghans are made up of many ethnicities and are a hardy people who fight amongst themselves and even harder when invaded.
What can Trump do that Bush and Obama could not do before him? Trump had better tread carefully as he faces many enemies like the North Koreans which are proving to be a huge challenge to American hegemony.
Negotiation the only way
While the US is using its military might in Afghanistan in the end peace talks are the only way forward. Trump knows this as do the Taliban and if Trump forces the Taliban back he will never totally defeat them. It is a cliche yes but the US should look back for inspiration to Vietnam and what happened there. Despite massive US participation in that war and with all its power the US could not totally defeat the Communist forces arrayed against them.
So, in the end, it will prove in Afghanistan too and no doubt behind the scenes the US is already talking to the Taliban. Pakistan according to Trump will no longer be able to act as a friend on one hand and harbour the Taliban on the other.
The one thing about this unlike Bush and Obama Trump is leaving decisions to his generals and how that will play out is any one's guess.
