US Republican Senator John McCain welcomed the boost to Australia’s commitment in Afghanistan as an ‘important signal’ and flagged a further US request could be imminent. During an exclusive interview with The Australian in Canberra today, Senator McCain said the US-Australian alliance was more important than ever. Senator McCain also urged US President Donald Trump to listen to his Defence Secretary General James Mattis and his National Security Adviser General HR McMaster ahead of the release of the administration’s new strategy on Afghanistan. McCain welcomed Australia’s confirmation that it would send 30 extra defence personnel to take up advise-and-assist roles in the conflict, and said it was ‘an important symbol’. The US general commanding NATO forces in Afghanistan, John Nicholson, had in February told Congress he faces a ‘shortfall of a few thousand troops, and warned that ‘we’re in a stalemate’. The United States has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan and another 5,000 are from its NATO allies.
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