Afghan army fully on offense for first time in 16 years: Mattis

AVA- The remarks come after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his administration’s strategy on Afghanistan in August.

“Beginning last month, and for the first time in this long fight, all six Afghan military corps are engaged in offensive operations,” Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said at a Senate Armed Services Committee.

“We’ve never had all six of them working at the same time,” he added.

The strategy allows more authority for U.S. forces to employ airstrikes against the Taliban, more foreign troops and includes call on Pakistan to tackle militant sanctuaries in its soil.

Mattis said the new U.S. strategy has already had psychological impact.

“We‘re already starting to see the psychological impact of this new strategy, both militarily in the fild as well as through [Afghan President Ashraf Ghani] and the Afghan Government’s commitment to reform,” he said adding casualties among Afghan military forces were also on decline.

During the hearing, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford said that there is a “regenerated sense” the Afghan army can push the Taliban into a position where they can have no hope of winning and has to talk.

“They stop killing people, they live by the constitution and they break with international terrorists,” he said. “That’s a pretty low bar, and we intend to peel off a fair number as they see they have no hope of military victory.”