Mattis begins sending additional troops to Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has begun sending additional troops to Afghanistan to carry out President Donald Trump's new war strategy, which will stick to his predecessor's approach of supporting the Afghans' fight against the Taliban rather than doing the fighting for them, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said today.

"Yes, I've signed orders, but it's not complete," Mattis told reporters in an impromptu news conference at the Pentagon.

He would not say how many additional troops are deploying or what their exact roles will be. Trump's decision to deepen the American military commitment was taken after months of debate within the administration over whether the risk was worth the potential reward of eventually stabilizing Afghanistan to the point where its own forces can prevent a Taliban takeover and contain other militant threats.

Mattis stressed that Afghan forces will remain in the lead, with the extra U.S. troops taking a support role.

"By and large this is to enable the Afghan forces to fight more effectively," Mattis said. "It's more advisers, more enablers," such as "fire support" teams, which he declined to specify but could be artillery units. He said the additional U.S. troops have not yet arrived in Afghanistan.

"I just signed the orders," Mattis said. "It's going to take a couple of days."

Other officials have said the U.S. will send about 3,900 additional troops. In a speech announcing his new strategy Aug. 21, Trump did not mention an increase in U.S. troop levels was part of his new strategy. He said "conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables," will guide the strategy, and suggested troop levels will be kept largely secret.

"We will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities," Trump said.