A senior U.S. official suggested the U.S. could stay in Afghanistan for decades like it has in South Korea, according to a report published Monday by NPR.
President Donald Trump will deliver a speech Monday night and announce how America will move forward in its nearly 16-year long conflict in Afghanistan.
NPR reported that Trump will announce a deployment of 4,000 additional troops, which is something his top national security advisers have been requesting. (RELATED: Trump Has Been Against The War In Afghanistan For Years But Is Now Poised To Increase Troop Levels)
NPR asked a senior U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, how long the U.S. will continue to remain in Afghanistan, and the official responded, “How long have we been in Korea?”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not respond to a request for comment. U.S. troops have been in South Korea since the Korean War began in 1950.
The Daily Caller interviewed Michael Pregent, a former intelligence adviser to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, earlier this year and he said, “The only way to effectively win in Afghanistan is not announce a withdrawal and find a way to stay.”
President Trump in 2013 attacked the idea of a long-term American presence in Afghanistan. “We should leave Afghanistan immediately. No more wasted lives. If we have to go back in, we go in hard & quick. Rebuild the US first,” Trump tweeted.