First Draft on Politics: Trump Sets U.S. Strategy for Afghan War

The president embraced deepened involvement in a military mission that he once called futile. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, August 22, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [President Trump speaks at Fort Myer, in Arlington, Va., on Monday.]( President Trump speaks at Fort Myer, in Arlington, Va., on Monday. Al Drago for The New York Times Good Tuesday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - President Trump [put forward a long-awaited strategy]( for resolving the nearly 16-year-old conflict in Afghanistan, but he failed to specify either the number of troops that would be committed, or the conditions by which he would judge the success of their mission there. - The president, who had called for American withdrawal from Afghanistan before he took office, in the end [accepted a “big military” approach]( as the only viable option. - Mr. Trump’s penchant for defying convention was on vivid display even during the solar eclipse, when he [discarded advice about averting his eyes]( from the sun. - U.S. Navy ships worldwide will [suspend operations for a day or two this week]( to examine basic seamanship and teamwork after the second collision of a Navy destroyer and a commercial ship in two months. - Louise Linton, the wife of the Treasury secretary, [took a page from Mr. Trump’s social media playbook]( for punching down. — The First Draft Team HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL NEWS TIP? Do you have the next big story? Want to share it with The New York Times? We offer several ways to get in touch with and provide materials to our journalists. [Learn More »]( ADVERTISEMENT [Trump’s Agenda]( We’ll keep you updated on the recent legislative action by the Trump White House. [• Sign up »]( The New Washington [Sarah Huckabee Sanders]( The White House press secretary is one of the most visible jobs in American politics. Michael Grynbaum spoke with Ms. Sanders about growing up as the daughter of a prominent politician, inheriting her position after her celebrity predecessor Sean Spicer quit and trying to manage coverage of a tumultuous White House while mollifying a boss who believes he is his own best spokesman. News Analysis [Trump’s Strategy May Help in Afghanistan, but Few Expect ‘Outright Victory’]( By MICHAEL R. GORDON [American troops kept watch near the wreckage of their vehicle at the site of a Taliban suicide attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan, this month.]( American troops kept watch near the wreckage of their vehicle at the site of a Taliban suicide attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan, this month. Javed Tanveer/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images President Trump’s new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, which he laid out Monday night in a televised address, is intended to give a badly needed boost to the campaign to push back the Taliban, step up the fight against terrorism and reverse the steady deterioration of security that has allowed [devastating bombings]( to shake Kabul. The strategy, which would require several thousand more troops to carry out, will most likely help, current and former United States commanders said. It would allow American officers to more closely advise Afghan brigades, train more Afghan special operations forces and call in American firepower. But even those who support Mr. Trump’s strategy cast his decision as the start of yet another challenging chapter that might, at best, enable Afghan forces to regain momentum on the battlefield over the next several years, not a quick fix for the problems that have bedeviled the region for nearly 16 years. “I do not think many believe there could be an outright victory,” said Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, who has been an advocate of sending more troops to Afghanistan. “But if President Trump can reverse the momentum, then he could arguably claim bragging rights and achieve at least a partial strategic success.” [Read more »](  [Speaker Paul D. Ryan during a news conference at the Capitol last month.]( [Ryan Condemns Trump’s ‘Both Sides’ Remark but Tries to Move On]( By EMILY COCHRANE Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker, was repeatedly asked during a town hall in Wisconsin about the president’s remarks and tweets. [Full Transcript and Video: Trump’s Speech on Afghanistan]( By THE NEW YORK TIMES President Trump addressed the nation from Fort Myer military base in Arlington, Va., about his military plan for Afghanistan. Right and Left: Partisan Writing You Shouldn’t Miss Read about how the other side thinks. We have collected political writing from around the web and across ideologies. From the Right • [Rod Dreher]( in [The American Conservative]( “He fought for the wrong side and deserved to lose. But notice that after he lost, he called on all defeated Southerners to cease hostilities and to commit themselves to the service of the United States. [...] It mattered that he did not urge bitter resistance, but rather nobly counseled patriotism.” After New Orleans decided to take down its statue of [Robert E. Lee]( in May, Mr. Dreher wrote a response to the controversy. He said that he was “not losing sleep” over the removal of other Confederate leaders, but that he was troubled by the move to take down a memorial to Lee, a “far more complex man” than many people realize. [Read more »]( _____ From the Left • [Adam Serwer]( in [The Atlantic]( “To describe this man as an American hero requires ignoring the immense suffering for which he was personally responsible, both on and off the battlefield.” Mr. Serwer takes on the “myth of the kindly General Lee,” arguing that this was a man “whose devotion to white supremacy outshone his loyalty to his country.” There’s no way, he writes, that one can defend Lee in “good conscience” unless one puts “tribe and race over country.” [Read more »]( _____ [More selections »]( ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [washington-newsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:washington-newsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback). 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