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Rex Tillerson totally undercut Trump's 'We will win' rhetoric on Afghanistan
Source: Washington Post
Rex Tillerson totally undercut Trump’s ‘We will win’ rhetoric on Afghanistan
By Aaron Blake August 22 at 5:02 PM
President Trump assured us Monday night — repeatedly — that the United States will win the war in Afghanistan. But his secretary of state would apparently like to set the bar considerably lower than that.
In a classic case of Trump's big talk running into stubborn realities — almost immediately — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday afternoon played down the idea that the U.S. military would walk away from Afghanistan with a victory.
He addressed the Taliban directly: “You will not win a battlefield victory. We may not win one, but neither will you.”
“We may not win one” is quite a different tune than the one Trump was singing Monday night. “We will always win,” he began one thought. “I'm a problem-solver, and in the end, we will win,” he added. Also: “Our troops will fight to win. We will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition.” And: “The men and women who serve our nation in combat deserve a plan for victory. They deserve the tools they need and the trust they have earned to fight and to win.”
-snip-
By Aaron Blake August 22 at 5:02 PM
President Trump assured us Monday night — repeatedly — that the United States will win the war in Afghanistan. But his secretary of state would apparently like to set the bar considerably lower than that.
In a classic case of Trump's big talk running into stubborn realities — almost immediately — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday afternoon played down the idea that the U.S. military would walk away from Afghanistan with a victory.
He addressed the Taliban directly: “You will not win a battlefield victory. We may not win one, but neither will you.”
“We may not win one” is quite a different tune than the one Trump was singing Monday night. “We will always win,” he began one thought. “I'm a problem-solver, and in the end, we will win,” he added. Also: “Our troops will fight to win. We will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition.” And: “The men and women who serve our nation in combat deserve a plan for victory. They deserve the tools they need and the trust they have earned to fight and to win.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/08/22/rex-tillerson-totally-undercut-trumps-we-will-win-rhetoric-on-afghanistan/
