WASHINGTON - US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday told lawmakers that the uncertainty in South Asia and Afghanistan has been replaced by certainty in the region because of the South Asia policy of the US President Donald Trump.
“In South Asia and Afghanistan, uncertainty in the region has been replaced by the certainty of President Trump’s South Asia Strategy,” Mattis said in his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.
Concurrently in the Middle East, US has dramatically reduced ISIS’ physical caliphate, using a coordinated, whole-of-government approach that works “by, with, and through” its allies and partners to crush ISIS’ claim of invincibility and deny them a geographic haven from which to plot murder, he said.
“The budget request supports U.S. forces in Afghanistan as part of the Administration’s South Asia Strategy; continues operations to prevent the resurgence of ISIS; and continues our security partnership with Iraqi Security Forces to support Iraq’s long-term stability and independence,” Mattis said. (Pajhwok)