Trump Unveils New Afghan War Plan; Defense Secretary Mattis in Iraq
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Historically, I like following my instincts. But all my life, I've heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk in the Oval Office.</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump revising the American strategy in Afghanistan. He said there will be more troops. There will be no deadlines. How does all this change what happens on the ground in Afghanistan? Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.</s>DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Dave Briggs. There is a lot of questions after last night's speech, indeed. After months of planning, President Trump has unveiled to the nation his new vision for the U.S. war in Afghanistan, the longest war. The president breaking from his campaign rhetoric when he promised to pull out of Afghanistan, but keeping with the America-first theme, saying the days of nation-building are over. The strategy is light on specifics. The president reaffirming he does not want the enemy to know his plans, and a hasty withdrawal like that in Iraq is not an option.</s>TRUMP: The vacuum we created by leaving too soon gave safe haven for ISIS to spread, to grow, recruit, and launch attacks. We cannot repeat in Afghanistan the mistake our leaders made in Iraq.</s>ROMANS: Now, the president signaled the U.S. would increase troop levels in Afghanistan, but he offered no numbers. Mr. Trump also put no end date on America's longest war. So, how exactly is the path to victory different from the predecessors he criticized? CNN's Athena Jones with more on the president's speech from Arlington, Virginia.</s>ATHENA JONES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave. President Trump laid out a new plan for U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and South Asia, emphasizing the importance of a regional approach to preventing terrorists from gaining a safe haven from which they could threaten America. The president called on Pakistan to do more to fight terrorist groups and on India to help in the area of economic assistance for Afghanistan. The president also said a core pillar of the new U.S. strategy in Afghanistan would be a shift from a time-based approach to one based on conditions on the ground.</s>TRUMP: We will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities. Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables, will guide our strategy from now on. America's enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out. I will not say when we are going to attack, but attack we will.</s>JONES: And notably, the president did explain the evolution in his thinking from favoring a full withdrawal as a candidate and before that to supporting a continued presence in Afghanistan, arguing that a hasty withdrawal from the country would create a vacuum that terrorist groups like ISIS or al Qaeda could exploit. The president also said he would expand the authority for American armed forces to target the terrorists and criminal networks that sow violence and hatred in Afghanistan. And the president repeatedly throughout this speech said that the U.S. would ultimately win the fight there, ensuring a victory that has so far eluded this country for 16 years -- Christine, Dave.</s>BRIGGS: Athena Jones, thank you. President Trump sending a pointed message to the Afghan government that he expects results in exchange for the human and financial investment being made by the United States. Listen to him demand Afghan leaders do their fair share.</s>TRUMP: Our commitment is not unlimited and our support is not a blank check. The American people expect to see real reforms, real progress, and real results. Our patience is not unlimited.</s>ROMANS: So, how is the president's plan being received in Afghanistan? Nic Robertson is monitoring the latest developments live from London for us. Our patience is not endless, the president said. But, you know, he didn't give firm contours of what the new plan looks like, Nic.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: He didn't, and he said why he wasn't doing it, not to give the game away to the enemy, but I think to the rest of the world it feels very much like this is what we've heard before, this is the way we've seen the problem in Afghanistan tackled in the past. He is giving more power to the generals. He does have support, we heard from President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan today, saying that he supports this. That no time has the U.S./Afghan cooperation and alliance been stronger, the Afghans will do their part to take on this fight, the common threat of terrorism. We've heard from a Pakistani opposition parliamentarian, not from the government itself, responding to what President Trump said, more pressure required on Pakistan to get them to stop harboring terrorists. And the opposition politicians said typical the United States is blaming Pakistan again for its failed and flawed policies in Afghanistan. Perhaps that statement is not unsurprising. But I think in the few details we have there, there are some interesting points. President Trump says that there may be a place in a political place for the Taliban, some Taliban, in the future of Afghanistan. He leaves the door open there, essentially to talks with the Taliban. The Taliban for their part in response to this say if the United States continues with its war fighting, we will fight them. But they also are caveating, saying if they will leave the door open. Now, of course, President Trump as we know is differing a lot of authority and a lot of influence on himself to his generals. And his generals, of course, like everyone else, are looking for the exit strategy. The Afghan president says the strategy going forward is a political one, and whether it can be achieved or not, the door does seem to be here to be opened to the Taliban. And just adding there, President Trump did differentiate between the Taliban and ISIS and al Qaeda. Crush al Qaeda, obliterate ISIS. Taliban, just stop them taking control of the country.</s>ROMANS: Yes, the Taliban controls more territory today than before the U.S. invasion. So, you know, clearly, clearly a big problem. All right. Thanks, Nic Robertson for us in London, thank you.</s>BRIGGS: The president's speech on Afghanistan started on a rather surprising note. He attempted to first address the visions here at home in the wake of the Charlottesville attack. He did not specifically mention the violence in Charlottesville, but he was clearly attempting to clean up some of those explosive comments with this reference to our military.</s>TRUMP: The young men and women we send to fight our wars abroad deserve to return to a country that is not at war with itself at home. We cannot remain a force for peace in the world if we are not at peace with each other. As we send our bravest to defeat our enemies overseas, and we will always win, let us find the courage to heal our divisions within.</s>ROMANS: President Trump's handling of Charlottesville a big focus for House Speaker Paul Ryan during a CNN town hall. Ryan said the president fell short.</s>REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I think he made comments that were much more morally ambiguous, much more confusing. And I do think he could have done better. I think he needed to do better. So, I do believe that he messed up in his comments on Tuesday when it -- it sounded like a moral equivocation or, at the least, moral ambiguity when we need extreme moral clarity.</s>ROMANS: Ryan is opposed to any measure censuring the president which some Democrats are pushing. Ryan says it would be counterproductive to let this issue transcend -- descend rather into a partisan food fight.</s>BRIGGS: President Trump heads today to Arizona, despite pleas from the Democratic mayor of Phoenix to stay away. He'll be headlining a campaign-style Make America Great Again rally with Vice President Pence expected to join. Still no word, though, whether he plans to pardon controversial former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio tells CNN he has not been invited to the rally. The president said last week he was seriously considering a pardon, but the White House has not reached out to the Justice Department office that traditionally handles petitions for clemency. The president also plans to stop in Yuma, Arizona, that's the central point of operations for the U.S. border patrol.</s>ROMANS: This morning, Defense Secretary James Mattis is in Iraq. Mattis arriving in Baghdad just a couple of hours ago for meetings with Iraq's prime minister and Iraqi military leaders. It is the latest stop on his visit to countries in Europe and the Middle East, reaffirming America's strategic partnerships. Let's go live to Baghdad right now. I want to bring in CNN's Jomana Karadsheh. What's on the agenda, Jomana?</s>JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, prior to his arrival in Baghdad, Secretary Mattis also traveling with him is the U.S. presidential envoy for the Global Coalition Against ISIS, Brett McGurk, they were here in Amman, Jordan. They held a round table with traveling press and they discussed their trip to Iraq, talking about how they see a long-term relationship with that country. But, right now, they say the focus is the fight against ISIS and getting Iraq back on its feet. And the secretary's trip to Iraq comes at a time where over the weekend, Iraq has launched a fresh offensive, to try and recapture what is ISIS' last major urban stronghold in northern Iraq, the city of Tal Afar. That is expected to be a tough fight in which the Iraqis are leading the fight on the ground, but they're also getting U.S. support. Really high up on the agenda, too, is that scheduled referendum in Northern Iraq, in the Kurdish region of Iraq, on September 25th. That is when the Kurds have announced that they will be holding a referendum on independence. The United States and other countries are pushing them to postpone this. They don't think it's a good idea to do this right now. A lot of concern about this potentially sparking a conflict in Iraq or with other regional countries. The Kurds are adamant that they will hold this referendum. That it will go ahead on September 25th. And we've heard from Brett McGurk saying that if this does take place, that this could potentially be catastrophic to the fight against ISIS -- Christine.</s>ROMANS: All right. Jomana Karadsheh for us this morning from Amman, Jordan -- sorry, I misspoke when I said you were in Baghdad. Thank you so much for that, Jomana.</s>BRIGGS: All right. Navy and Marine Corps divers now searching for 10 sailors still missing after the USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker. We're live in Singapore with the latest developments next on EARLY START.