The delegation of this authority does not in itself change the force levels for Afghanistan, the secretary said.
But the White House "already has given Mattis similar authority to beef up troop levels for the anti-ISIS fight in Iraq and Syria", he adds. It's unlikely it will be that long anymore, however, because Mattis is seen as having strong opinions on the matter, and will likely want to answer the question quickly.
When George W. Bush left office, U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan totaled about 50,000. All indications are that Mattis will be ending up somewhere on the high side of that figure.
"This administration will not repeat the mistakes of the past", he said.
"We can not allow Afghanistan to once again become a launching point for attacks on our homeland or on our allies", Mr Mattis said.
Insisting that the USA can not allow Afghanistan to once again become a launching point for attacks on United States homeland and it's allies, Mattis said "We are making progress in degrading these groups, but their defeat will come about only by giving our men and women on the ground the support and the authorities they need to win". The Obama White House, by contrast, took a much more hands-on approach where the National Security Council would often be directly involved in operational matters.
Many believe that Trump is trying to shift responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan onto the Defense Department by giving them authority over troop levels.
Media reports have said Mattis is considering asking for 3,000 to 5,000 additional U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops, but the defence chief has said little on the matter.
First among equals as Halep, Ostapenko eye French title
Ostapenko was precise: she hit 54 winners that struck the lines and the corners both when it counted and with wheezing speed. Since then she has won 20 matches and lost only three, and Cahill has no doubt she will have more chances to win slams.
"Our core mission will remain the same: to train, advise and assist Afghan forces", he said.
The Afghan government was assessed by the US military to control or influence just 59.7 percent of Afghanistan's 407 districts as of February 20, a almost 11 percentage-point decrease from the same time in 2016, according to data released by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
Earlier in the day, Mattis dismissed the prospect of a return to the major USA troop deployments in Afghanistan, which peaked at more than 100,000 in 2011 during the Obama administration.
The New York Times first reported the policy decision, and Mattis confirmed this on Wednesday. We will present this to the President in the coming weeks.
About 2,400 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001 and another 20,000 wounded. More recently, USA military leaders have testified before Congress that the U.S.is losing the war. Three US soldiers were killed and another wounded last Saturday when they were attacked by an Afghan soldier, who was then killed. By March 2014, the United States had only 34,000 troops left in Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, Senator John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Mattis: "It makes it hard for us to support you when we don't have a strategy".
He went on to say this decision was part of a broader strategy the U.S is developing that addresses its role in Afghanistan and beyond.
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