President Donald Trump said Thursday as he arrived at the Pentagon for a national security briefing that the US and its allies have ISIS on the run.

'We're doing very well against ISIS. ISIS is falling fast. Very fast,' he said.

Trump dodged a reporter's question about the Defense Department's consideration of a troop surge in Afghanistan to rescue that country from the grips of the Taliban, shouting, 'We'll see.'

Asked again later, as he met with the troops, Trump said: 'You'll be hearing.'

Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford briefed lawmakers yesterday on the conflict that has stretched across three presidencies, the Washington Times reported.

The Pentagon is said to be on the verge of announcing its intent to send an additional 3,000 to 5,000 troops to Afghanistan to help stabilize the war-torn country.

President Donald Trump said Thursday as he arrived at the Pentagon for a national security briefing that the US and its allies have ISIS on the run. He's seen here shaking hands with his Secretary of Defense James Mattis

The Pentagon is said to be on the verge of announcing its intent to send an additional 3,000 to 5,000 troops to Afghanistan to help stabilize the war-torn country

Trump dodged a reporter's question about the Defense Department's consideration of a troop surge in Afghanistan to rescue that country from the grips of the Taliban, shouting, 'We'll see'

Barack Obama dramatically escalated troop levels in the Middle Eastern nation at the beginning of his presidency then dropped them down to 8,400 before he left.

He had to abandon plans to bring the US troop count down to 5,500 with civil war in the country continuing to rage on.

'We have to deal with the realities of the world as it is. We can't forget what's at stake in Afghanistan. This is where al Qaeda is trying to regroup, this is where ISIL continues to try to expand its presence,' he said in remarks last July.

Afghan forces control a mere 40 percent of the nation's territory compared to the 60 percent share that's policed by the Taliban.

If the Pentagon moves forward with plans to increase the number of US troops in the country, forces will again top the 10,000 cap that Obama was desperately trying to avoid when he left office.

With ISIS moving in and the Taliban strengthening its grip, the Pentagon is assessing a new strategy to take on the terrorists and it's reportedly leaning toward an additional troop deployment as a stop gap.

'We are not winning in Afghanistan,' Trump's defense secretary, Mattis, told the Senate panel that oversees Defense spending last month.

Today marks Trump's six month anniversary in office. Reflecting on his tenure earlier in the week he said he'd 'had a lot of victories' so far, naming the fight against ISIS as one of them.

'We're doing very well against ISIS. ISIS is falling fast. Very fast,' he said outside the Department of Defense. Vice President Mike Pence is seen entering the building, on the right

President Trump participated in a 'Pol-Mil session' and was briefed on national security issues and the fight against ISIS

He greeted military personnel afterward. Asked then about Afghanistan Trump said: 'You'll be hearing'

'We’ve won and are winning the war, as you know, at the border. We are very much decimating ISIS,' the president said.

The comments came during a White House luncheon with veterans of the Afghanistan war that Vice President Mike Pence and National Security Advisor HR McMaster also attended.

In short remarks to the press, Trump said he'd be talking to the soldiers about their experiences in Afghanistan.

'These are people on the ground, know it probably better than everybody. You know it pretty well, right?' he said. 'Because we’ve been there - it’s our longest war. We’ve been there, for many years. We’ve been there for now close to 17 years.'

Trump said he wants to know why the US has been mired in the conflict for so long and how to resolve it.

'I've heard plenty of ideas from a lot of people, but I want to hear it from people on the ground,' he explained.

The president's remarks on his record came in response to a reporter's question about healthcare and whether he was 'disappointed' in the Senate's stumbles.

He said that he was, then changed the subject to his administration's successes in other areas such as the rate of illegal border crossings, which were down 76 percent at the last count since he took office.

Trump said earlier this week that wants to know why the US has been mired in the Afghanistan conflict for so long

Trump also brought up anti-terror operations in Iraq and Syria. Iraqi soldiers backed by US forces recaptured Mosul earlier this month.

'We’ve had a lot of victories, but we haven’t had a victory on health care,' he stated. 'We are disappointed.'

On Wednesday the Washington Post learned that the Trump administration was ending a CIA program that arms Syrian rebels in their fight not just against ISIS but dictator Bashar al-Assad.

'If these reports are true, the administration is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin. Making any concession to Russia, absent a broader strategy for Syria, is irresponsible and short-sighted,' Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee said in a statement.

McCain is at his home in Arizona recovering from a Friday surgery. Doctors removed a blood clot from his left eye that tests later revealed to be an aggressive form of brain cancer.

The Republican senator smacked Trump, who'd called him a 'crusty voice' in Washington earlier in the week, for his administration's failure to 'articulate its vision for Syria beyond the defeat of ISIL, let alone a comprehensive approach to the Middle East.'

'Six months into this administration, there is still no new strategy for victory in Afghanistan either,' he said. 'It is now mid-July, when the administration promised to deliver that strategy to Congress, and we are still waiting.'

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders deferred to the Pentagon when the matter came up Thursday afternoon in the context of McCain's sickbed statement.

'I believe that the president has empowered Secretary Mattis to make decisions,' she said.

Huckabee Sanders told reporters earlier in the week 'the President is still reviewing what options he wants to take' in Afghanistan 'and what decisions he’ll make.'

In her Thursday briefing, she was also reminded of the president's promise a month ago that he'd have an ISIS press conference in two weeks that never happened.

The Daily Beast claimed in a Tuesday report that a plan, that's not all that different than Obama's, aside from the rhetoric, had been presented to the president, but it's still under wraps.

Why, if, the plan is done, has Trump not held his big announcement, Huckabee Sanders wouldn't say today.

'We'll certainly make sure that there's an announcement if there's a presser,' she stated and quickly moved on.