President Trump Is Reportedly Gearing Up to Dig America Further Into Its Forever War

Welcome to WHAT NOW, a morning round-up of the news/fresh horrors that await you today.

America has been waging war in Afghanistan for nearly 16 years, and a new decision from President Trump on the military’s strategy seems to indicate that we’re far from done there.

Defense Secretary James Mattis confirmed to reporters on Sunday that Trump had made a decision on a new strategy for the region, which The New York Times reported is likely to mean increased troop levels. Mattis didn’t confirm that Trump would call for more troops, saying the president wished to outline his vision in an address to the nation, scheduled for tonight at 9 p.m. from Fort Myer in Virginia.

Back in June, Mattis received the authority to send as many as 3,900 troops overseas to fight alongside and advise Afghan forces. An estimated 8,400 soldiers are currently stationed in the country.

Trump has frequently been critical of the war in Afghanistan, tweeting in 2013 that he agreed with then-President Obama on a “speedy withdrawal” from the country, where we’re “wasting trillions of dollars.” But now he appears to be ready to ramp the war up.

Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.

WHAT ELSE?

• The University of Texas at Austin removed four monuments to Confederate figures overnight.
• The Secret Service has run of of money to pay agents because of Trump’s large family and their frequent travel outside Washington.
• Ten sailors are still missing after the USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore.

WHAT’S NEXT?

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