Mattis Signs Orders to Send Extra Forces to Afghanistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that he has signed orders to send more troops to Afghanistan as a part of the U.S. new strategy to end the America’s longest war.

“I’ve signed orders, but it’s not complete. In other words, I’ve signed some of the troops that will go, and we’re identifying the specific ones,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon.

According to the Pentagon chief, the new forces ordered to deploy will strengthen the capability of the U.S. military in Afghanistan and the Afghan forces in the fight against the Taliban insurgents and other armed terrorist groups.

“Let me just be real clear. When you go into Afghanistan and you’re carrying a gun, you’re going into a combat zone,” he said,” by and large, this is to enable the Afghan forces to fight more effectively.”

Mattis declined to comment on how many extra troops were included in the orders until he briefs Congress next week, but reporters suggest that Trump has given Mattis the authority to send about 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.

This comes as the Pentagon announced Wednesday that it has about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan which is some 2,600 more than it had previously reported.