U.S. President Donald Trump was right to jettison his initial instincts for a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan and to articulate a firm, continued commitment to that country and the region in his recent speech. The conventional wisdom was quick to dismiss the strategy as little different from that of President Barack Obama. But it is in fact a welcome departure from Obama's foreign policy in two critical ways.
First, Trump deserves credit for a decision that clearly goes against immediate political interests. Sure, this is a low bar; we should all want and expect our commander in chief to prioritize national security above voter popularity. But it is easy, when viewing the tumultuous and sometimes baffling Trump foreign policy, to forget how domestic political considerations were so often the driving force behind Obama's foreign policy. The best example of this is the drive to remove all U.S. forces from Iraq before the 2012 presidential elections.
Trump's advisers may try to spin the approach outlined in his speech as consistent with his campaign rhetoric, but this is a tough sell. One just needs to look at Trump's pre-presidency tweets to see what a departure this is: "We have wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in Afghanistan. Their government has zero appreciation. Let's get out! (Nov. 22, 2013)"