Key elements of new strategy

Here are the key elements of US President Donald Trump's new Afghanistan strategy:

•Around 4,000 troops and advisers will be deployed in addition to the 8,400 troops already present in Afghanistan.

•The strategy aims to "kill terrorists" rather than get involved with nation-building.

•It also holds out the prospect of an eventual negotiated solution to the Afghan civil war, though it has underlined that the Afghan government will take the final call on such an arrangement.

•The new strategy is "open-ended", with no timeline for troop withdrawal, reversing former US president Barack Obama's decision to pull out of Afghanistan.

•It asks India to step up its financial commitments to Afghanistan.

•It labels Pakistan as a haven for the Taleban, putting pressure on Islamabad to reduce its support for the Islamic militants as well as other terrorist groups. This may set the stage for more military strikes inside Pakistan.

•The strategy also calls for training the Afghan government's regular forces and air force.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 23, 2017, with the headline Key elements of new strategy. Subscribe