Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel is increasingly willing to
publicly contradict President Trump on foreign policy stances,
historically not something active US military leadership has done.
Votel went out of his way to oppose President Trump’s Syria policy
during recent testimony to Congress, and is now laying the groundwork
for a similar disagreement with comments to reporters on the ‘dangerous threat’ of ISIS in Afghanistan.
President Trump hasn’t announced a withdrawal from Afghanistan yet, but
peace talks with the Taliban are heading in that direction, with
negotiators hoping to have a deal done in a matter of months. The
Taliban wants US troops out, and has offered to keep al-Qaeda and ISIS
out of Afghanistan.
Votel presented ISIS in Afghanistan as a “very sophisticated and
dangerous threat,” while another, unnamed official was quoted saying
they are “closest to having the capacity to attack the homeland from
Afghanistan.”
In both Syria and Afghanistan, administration policy of ending wars is
not sitting well with Pentagon leadership that has built their ISIS
strategy as permanent warfare. 18 years into Afghanistan, Votel seems
set to publicly resist a pullout.
Gen. Votel Contradicts Trump on Foreign Policy, Now Hypes Afghanistan ‘Threat’
Says ISIS Afghanistan poses a 'major threat' to US
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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