Mattis will give Trump Afghanistan strategy ‘very soon’

Defense Secretary James Mattis on Monday said the Pentagon will put strategy for the fight in Afghanistan in front of President Trump “very soon,” according to Reuters.

Testifying in front of the House Armed Services Committee on the 2018 defense budget Monday night, Mattis said the plan for Afghanistan will include “a regional approach.” 

“We are taking a regional approach to this,” he told the committee, as reported by Reuters. “We will take that forward to the president for a decision very soon.” 

{mosads}Mattis’s comments come as the administration considers sending additional troops to Afghanistan, while the Afghan military continues to fight both the Taliban and a branch of the Islamic State in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Hours before Mattis’s testimony, a U.S. convoy in Nangarhar province was struck by a roadside bomb. No U.S. troops were killed in the Monday incident, but three were killed over the weekend in an apparent insider attack.

Vice President Pence was reportedly at Andrews Air Force Base on Monday night to attend the “dignified transfer of the U.S. servicemen killed in the attack in Afghanistan,” Jake Tapper reported. 

VP Pence at Dover Air Force Base, attending the dignified transfer of the U.S. servicemen killed in the attack in Afghanistan

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 13, 2017

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley earlier this month said he would support sending additional troops to Afghanistan.