Infighting, stalemate, a bow to generals
By Philip Rucker and Robert Costa | Washington Post
... A president obsessed with winning has now settled on simply trying not to lose.
Trump decided to escalate troop levels ... Lobbied by rival advisers, the president pinballed between his militaristic and anti-interventionist impulses. Impatient during classified briefings, Trump longed to reimagine U.S. policy in South Asia under his “America first” banner.
Ultimately, however, Trump ... tilted toward the generals who now dominate his inner circle and had urged a large-scale troop expansion ...
Trump’s private deliberations – detailed in interviews with more than a dozen senior administration officials and outside allies – revealed a president .. willing to be persuaded so long as he could be seen as a strong and decisive leader ...
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/21/behind-trumps-afghan-decision-infighting-stalemate-finally-a-bow-to-the-generals/
