US National Security Adviser Arrived in Kabul

US National Security Adviser (NSA) Lt. Gen. McMaster arrived in Kabul today to focus on assessing whether more US forces are needed in Afghanistan. A press release from the Afghan National Security Council (NSC) stated that McMaster will visit President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, National Security Advisor (NSA) Mohammad Hanif Atmar and some other high ranking officials today. Earlier US media had reported that McMaster’s trip will focus on assessing whether more US forces are needed to turn around the war in Afghanistan, which has been ongoing since late 2001. In February, Army Gen. John Nicholson told Congress he needed a “few thousand” more troops in order to break what he called a “stalemate” with the Taleban. There are about 8,400 US troops there, along with 5,000 from NATO allies. Meanwhile some members of Afghan parliament asked the government to stress the need for mobilisation of Afghan security forces during the talks with McMaster.