Trump Meets Ghani in New York, Praises Partnership and Combat Efforts in Afghanistan

In a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York today, US President Donald Trump praised the combat efforts to drive the Taliban and terror groups out of Afghanistan. Trump said that joint Afghan-US forces were making headway against their opposition, “hitting them hard and hitting them effectively.” On his part Ghani saluted Trump’s recent decision to bolster the US military presence in Afghanistan by sending up to 3,900 more troops on top of the 8,400-strong force currently in Afghanistan. Ghani added that Afghan forces were leading the fight and said he did not want “a blank check” offering unlimited American help. According to Ghani, there has been immense changes on the ground since the announcement of the new strategy. “I have been to six of our seven army corps and they all greet you, and the people of the United States and the American soldiers and officers who fought shoulder to shoulder with…it is a difference of day and night. The cloud of uncertainty has been lifted, but equally important you commitment to a political solution at the end of the process,” said Ghani.