Pence defends Trump's Afghanistan plan, as skeptics continue to question a lack of specifics

David Jackson | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Vice Pence hit the morning shows on Tuesday to promote President Trump's new Afghanistan strategy, as skeptics questioned the lack of specifics on the latest strategy to fight a war nearly 16 years old.

The morning after Trump's prime time speech on Afghanistan, Pence told Fox News that "our objective there is to advance the security of the United States of America and to support the Afghan national army as they stay in the lead, in the fight."

Trump did not provide specific troops numbers during his remarks at Fort Myer, Va., nor did he offer a timeline for the war that began shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001. While Trump once supported a total pullout from Afghanistan, he reversed course in the address to military troops, warning against a "hasty withdrawal" and insisting "we must stop the resurgence of safe havens that enable terrorists to threaten America."

As part of his morning television tour on Tuesday, Pence told NBC's Today show that the president "sent a message of resolve and commitment" to Afghanistan as well as its neighbors in the region.

In a column for USA TODAY, Pence sad the strategy "will integrate all instruments of American power – diplomatic and economic as well as military – to move toward a political settlement in Afghanistan that protects our interests."

More: Cautioning against 'hasty' pullout from Afghanistan, Trump clears path for more U.S. troops

More: Analysis: Trump reverses views on Afghanistan, a war with no easy exits

More: Analysis: Trump's new Afghanistan war strategy reflects a lack of winning options

That includes pressuring Pakistan to stop providing safe havens for insurgents in neighboring Pakistan, Pence said.

Pence did not provide specific troop numbers, either, though the administration has already signed off on the deployment of an additional 3,900 troops, pending implementation of a new strategy.

Pence told Fox that "the troop levels are significant."

There are currently some 8,400 troops in Afghanistan. At times over the past decade-and-a-half, there have been more than 100,000 U.S. soldiers in the country.

Some supporters of Trump said they wished he followed his original instinct – a complete withdrawal. They questioned whether the president's new strategy will alter the stalemate in Afghanistan.

"Who's going to pay for it?" tweeted radio talk show host Laura Ingraham, a long-time Trump supporter. "What is our measure of success? We didn't win with 100K troops. How will we win with 4,000 more?"

The Breitbart News website – now run again by ex-Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, an opponent of the Afghanistan surge – featured several articles critical of Trump's decision.

Trump turns to another issue on Tuesday, immigration, as he takes Air Force One to Arizona for a border event in Yuma.

In the evening, Trump will conduct a campaign-style rally in Phoenix. The event takes place amid Trump feuds with both of Arizona's Republican senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, and as he considers a pardon for former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has been found in contempt of court for defying a judge's order over his tactics regarding border crossings.

During his television appearances, Pence also fielded questions about the criticism Trump took last week after saying both sides shared blame for racial violence in Charlottesvile, Va. Critics said Trump's comments gave cover to white nationalists and neo-Nazis who organized a demonstration to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue.

On Fox News, Pence said that Trump "was clear in the aftermath of the tragedy in Charlottesville, that we denounce bigotry and hate and violence in all of its forms."