US Military To Make Afghanistan War Recommendations

The US military is drawing up recommendations on the war in Afghanistan to hand to President Trump within the next week.

It comes amid expectations of a request for thousands of US troops to be sent to Afghanistan to break a stalemate with Taliban insurgents.

Pentagon discussions are said to include adding between 3,000 and 5,000 American troops - largely comprising of  trainers to support Afghan forces and air crews.

It is three months since Army General John Nicholson, who leads US and international forces in Afghanistan, said he needed "a few thousand" additional forces, some potentially drawn from allied countries.

So far, President Trump has offered little clarity about whether he might approve that call.

Since Donald Trump took office in January, the Taliban have staged regular deadly attacks, including one last month inside a northern Afghan army base - where Taliban fighters killed more than 140 soldiers.

Changes to the rules of engagement are also said to be under consideration.

Some US officials question the benefit of sending more troops to Afghanistan, where more than 2,300 Americans have been killed and over 17,000 wounded.

They say the situation in Afghanistan is even worse than expected, and that any politically palatable number of troops would not be enough to turn the tide, much less create stability and security.