The Times of India: Trump on Afghanistan

US President Donald Trump committed the United States to indefinite continuation of the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan, emphasizing “winning” and killing terrorists rather than nation building. Trump offered few specifics, but troop numbers of troops discussed are much smaller than the 100,000 deployed in 2010. In line with his transactional approach to foreign policy, Trump outlined expectations for help from Pakistan in exchange for US foreign aid and from India in exchange for a trade surplus with the United States. “Leaders in New Delhi may draw satisfaction from the hard line Trump has taken on Pakistan, but they cannot ignore the fact that despite years of trying to become America’s partner in its own right, India has again been dragged back into a triangular relationship with Pakistan,” writes Nayan Chanda for the Times of India. “India’s importance to Washington would be judged by how effective or ineffective it is in serving US interest in Pakistan and Afghanistan.” Among the challenges pointed to by Chanda: Fewer restraints on US troops and increased civilian deaths will fuel extremism recruitment, and an imperious tone pushes Pakistan closer to China. – YaleGlobal