We will correct this as soon as possible, ' stated Mattis in an appearance before the US Senate Armed Services Committee.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sets his briefcase down before he testifies at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the defense budget for the 2018 budget year, on Capitol Hill, Monday, June 12, 2017, in Washington. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Congress couldn't pass a budget without a strategy.
The American military remains the strongest force on the face of the Earth, but "there is no room for complacency, and we have no God-given right to victory on the battlefield", Mattis said.
That said, USA forces continue to suffer losses to a resurgent Taliban and the Islamic State Khorasan Province, which was exemplified by the deaths of three soldiers on Saturday.
Reuters reported in late April that Mr Trump's administration was reviewing operations in Afghanistan and there was discussion about sending between 3,000 and 5,000 usa and coalition troops there. "Four years later, I've returned to the department, and I have been shocked by what I have seen about our readiness to fight".
In contrast to the lack of a strategy in Afghanistan, there is a "defeat ISIS" strategy in Syria which the US-led coalition seeks to "encircle and destroy" Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) fighters.
Mattis said Monday he expects to soon submit recommendations to Trump on how to move forward in Afghanistan.
"I believe by mid-July we will be able to brief you in detail", Mattis said.
Mattis added that there are "actions underway" to make sure the military doesn't "pay a price for the delay", without elaborating. Noting that the Trump budget plan already requires busting the caps imposed by the Budget Control Act, McCain, who has called for Pentagon funding in the realm of $640 billion, made his position clear: "If we're gonna bust the BCA, why not bust it to what we need it to be?"
Jeff Sessions offers to testify in front of Senate Intelligence Committee
Trump's getting-back-to-work photo op kicked off a week in which he's under siege due to the Russian Federation investigation. Comey has said Sessions did not respond when he complained he didn't "want to get time alone with the president again".
The Trump administration is in the process of reviewing USA policy toward Afghanistan, and Mattis said today that a new strategy would be released by mid-July.
McCain said the Defense Department's budget request can not be fulfilled without an updated strategy in Afghanistan, and in conflicts around the world more broadly.
"The most urgent and unsafe threat to peace and security is North Korea", Mattis said. Questions on Russian Federation ranged from concerns about cyber attacks, its continued aggression in Europe and its recent movement of forces in southern Syria toward a training base where US forces operate.
Russia, China and Iran field a wide range of cyber, space, aviation, maritime and land capabilities specifically created to limit USA military's ability to deploy, employ and sustain forces, the general said.
"I don't think there's any question that unless we change the path we're on we're going to be at a competitive disadvantage qualitatively and quantitatively", Dunford said, later adding, "it affects our ability to deter conflict, it affects the confidence that our allies have in our ability to meet our commitments".
"All focus to prevent us from projecting power when and where necessary to accomplish our objective", Dunford said.
Mattis was replying to questioning from Sen.
"As far as the Tanf situation", Mattis said.
Earlier this month, the UN Security Council expanded targeted sanctions against North Korea after its repeated missile tests, adopting the first such resolution agreed by the United States and China since President Donald Trump took office.
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