President Donald Trump will give a nationally televised address Monday night to unveil his strategy for the long-running war in Afghanistan, the White House said, a plan expected to include sending as many as 4,000 more troops to the country.

He’ll deliver the prime-time speech from Fort Myer in Arlington, Va., using the same sort of high-profile stage that his predecessor, Barack Obama, employed in laying out a new approach to the war in 2009. Mr. Obama delivered his speech before a national television audience at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., promising at the time to “bring this war to a successful conclusion.”

The speech is planned for 9 p.m. EDT.

Last week, Mr. Trump met at Camp David with his top advisers, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, national security adviser H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to discuss the way ahead in Afghanistan. Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attended by videoconferencing from overseas.

On Saturday, the president tweeted that he had settled on an approach to a war that is now in its 16th year: “Important day spent at Camp David with our very talented Generals and military leaders. Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan.”


The Afghanistan policy announcement marks a turning point for the president. In announcing the strategy himself, he gains ownership of the war that he criticized as a candidate before inheriting it from two predecessors, Mr. Obama and George W. Bush. As the new strategy takes hold, Mr. Trump will increasingly be asked about any successes or setbacks. Mr. Trump has been criticized in national security circles for foisting his war policy on his generals.

Months ago, Mr. Trump empowered Mr. Mattis to increase the size of the force as needed. The defense secretary, who led troops there as a general before his retirement, pushed to get the White House to agree to a strategy first. Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and others embracing an “America First” strategy had cautioned Mr. Trump that there was no payoff in Afghanistan and to pull troops out.

Mr. Trump as a candidate called for drawing down the number of troops, but top military advisers and ultimately Mr. Tillerson advised that he should not only retain but increase the troop levels to address a worsening security situation and to strengthen the advisory effort aiding the Afghan military. He was also advised to take a broader approach to the region that would include Pakistan.

Mr. Trump heads into this high-stakes period for his agenda at a time when his White House is in the midst of a reset. His new chief of staff, John Kelly, has been tightening operations in a West Wing that has failed to notch a major legislative victory.


Mr. Trump on Friday ousted Mr. Bannon, the face of an economic nationalist approach that had discomfited some of the president’s more mainstream advisers.

More staff departures could be coming as Mr. Kelly looks to impose more discipline on a staff riven by infighting, White House advisers said.

Write to Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com and Gordon Lubold at Gordon.Lubold@wsj.com