A new book examines Donald Trump’s Afghanistan strategy and how it deepened faultlines in South Asia

Rolling out his new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia on August 21, 2017, Trump shared three core American interests. The first was an “honourable and enduring outcome” of the war in Afghanistan, which could be described as a “victory” worthy of the tremendous sacrifices made by US military personnel. The second was not to create a vacuum in Afghanistan through a “hasty withdrawal”, which could be filled by Al Qaeda and ISIS, “as had happened before 9/11”. Trump gave the example of the total withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in December 2011, which subsequently allowed ISIS to grow in the region. The third was to eliminate the ‘immense security threat’ to the US stemming from Afghanistan and the broader region.

Though the broad strategy remained the same, Trump made one significant shift with regard to the timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. Instead of time-based withdrawal, he announced that it would be condition-based. Under the new strategy, the number of troops and operational details would not be shared. Clarifying that the US was not in Afghanistan for “nation building”, Trump pledged support to the ANDSF and to the Afghan government to lead the peace talks with the Taliban.

He warned...

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