It's not immediately clear how the decision will impact force levels, and the White House and the Pentagon have not officially commented on the policy.
Mattis promised to "correct" the lack of winning with the new strategy, but indications for months have been that the proposals center around slight increases in direct USA involvement in fighting, and likely thousands of additional troops being sent to the country.
Mr Mattis has already told the House of Representatives armed services committee that he intends to take a "a regional approach" to Afghanistan and developing the new strategy would involve various United States government agencies. "Right now, I believe that the enemy is surging, right now", Mattis said. Now 8,400 American service members are serving in Afghanistan, advising Afghan forces and conducting targeted counterterrorism operations.
A truck-bomb explosion in Kabul last month killed more than 150 people, making it the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001. The U.S. has about 9,800 troops there conducting counterterrorism operations against insurgents and training the Afghan army.
Committee Chairman John McCain criticized the administration's efforts in Afghanistan.
Under the first budget request from the Trump administration, the Pentagon's budget rose $18.5 billion more than the Obama administration projected for 2018 - a sizable increase for most government agencies, but relatively small for the DoD, especially in light of promises from President Donald Trump that he would rebuild the military.
"Let's not ask these families to sacrifice any further without a strategy, which we can then take and implement and help you", he pleaded.
Warriors say no decision has been made on White House visit
It's possible the Warriors won't visit the White House under the Trump administration. "I definitely wouldn't go". Forward David West expressed his unhappiness after the election of Trump, saying it was "unsettling".
Last week, South Korea's top national security adviser said Seoul did not aim to change its agreement on the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system to protect against North Korea, despite a decision to delay its full installation. But Mattis cited "provocative behavior" from North Korea, saying, "There is no other nation that needs to be concerned about THAAD other than North Korea if they're engaged in something that's offensive".
McCain said he's a great admirer of Mattis, "but we just can't keep going like this".
But McCain's frustration bubbled over when he asked why there is still no strategy for winning in Afghanistan.
"Every time they fire one of these, they're learning something more so it's a worsening situation", Mattis said. He also faulted Capitol Hill for not repealing a law that strictly limits defense spending even though there is widespread support for doing away with the measure.
Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Mattis told members of Congress they've caused "harm" by their lack of leadership.
In his opening remarks, he said: "During nine of the past 10 years, Congress has enacted 30 separate continuing resolutions upon the Department of Defense, thus inhibiting our readiness and adaptation to new challenges". "In the past, by failing to pass a budget on time or eliminate the threat of sequestration, Congress sidelined itself from its active constitutional oversight role".
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