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Article snippet: President Trump’s new strategy for the war in devastating bombings to shake Kabul. The strategy, which would require several thousand more troops to implement, will likely help, current and former United States commanders said. It would allow American officers to more closely advise Afghan brigades, train more Afghan special operations forces and call in American firepower. But even those who support Mr. Trump’s strategy cast his decision as the start of yet another challenging chapter that might, at best, enable Afghan forces to regain momentum on the battlefield over the next several years, not a quick fix for the problems that have bedeviled the region for nearly 16 years. “I do not think many believe there could be an outright victory,” said Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, who has been an advocate of sending more troops to Afghanistan. “But if President Trump can reverse the momentum, then he could arguably claim bragging rights and achieve at least a partial strategic success.” Mr. Trump had little room to maneuver, given the situation on the ground and the political calculus. No president was going to suggest to a war-weary American public the sort of troop surge that brought force levels to 100,000 in 2010, the peak of the American military’s presence in Afghanistan. But Mr. Trump has also concluded, as do most national security experts, that departing altogether would create a breeding ground for terrorists that threatens the West. The pres... Link to the full article to read more