<p class="MsoNormal">President Donald Trump is fed up with the 16-year war in Afghanistan. NBC News reported this week that Trump made this clear to generals in a meeting last month.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reports say he proposed firing the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson during the meeting.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Trump left the national security meeting without making a decision on a strategy. His advisers were stunned,&rdquo; writes <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">NBC News</em>, according to officials. &ldquo;Two Pentagon officials close to Mattis said he returned from the White House that morning visibly upset. Mattis often takes a walk when grappling with an issue. That afternoon, the walk took longer than usual, the officials said.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&#8220;We aren&#8217;t winning,&#8221; said Trump, according to these officials. &#8220;We are losing.&#8221;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The war has led to the deaths of 2,216 U.S. military personnel, along with tens of thousands of civilians. It hasn&rsquo;t only been deadly; it has cost American taxpayers about $714 billion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Allegedly, Trump said the U.S. should get a piece of Afghanistan&rsquo;s mineral wealth in exchange for its military efforts.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Over nearly two hours in the situation room, according to the officials, Trump complained about NATO allies, inquired about the United States getting a piece of [Afghanistan&rsquo;s] mineral wealth and repeatedly said the top U.S. general there should be fired,&rdquo; writes <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">NBC News.</em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">However, the Trump administration has yet to announce how they will be handling the situation that they inherited from the Obama administration. Afghanistan is still not stable enough to defend itself.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jim Mattis, defense secretary did say they were close to announcing a new strategy.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;It just takes time,&rdquo; said Mattis.&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t that past presidents were dumb or anything else. This is hard work, so you&rsquo;ve got to get it right. That&rsquo;s all there is to it.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mattis expressed similar sentiments to Trump and said in June that the U.S. was not winning the war.  ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Trump has met with those who have been fighting in Afghanistan to try to understand why the U.S. has been there for so long.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;These are people on the ground &mdash; know it probably better than anybody. We&rsquo;ve been there for now close to 17 years,&rdquo; said Trump &ldquo;I want to find out why we&rsquo;ve been there for 17 years, how it&rsquo;s going, and what we should do in terms of additional ideas. I&rsquo;ve heard plenty of ideas from a lot of people, but I want to hear it from the people on the ground.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House spokeswoman said that the National Security Council &ldquo;continues to develop options for him that address threats and opportunities to America arising from this vital region.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Trump administration is prepping a plan that addresses the issues in the entire South Asia region.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;The president&rsquo;s national security team is developing a comprehensive, integrated strategy for South Asia that utilizes all aspects of our national power to address this complex region,&rdquo; said Michael Anton, NSC spokesman in a statement. &ldquo;That strategy has been worked carefully in the interagency process and while no decision has been made the president&rsquo;s team continues to develop options for him that address threats and opportunities to America arising from this vital region.&rdquo;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The problem is the country isn&rsquo;t focusing on becoming stable on its own, instead the focus has been on the $65 billion illegal drug market. ;</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;By itself, Afghanistan provides 85% of the estimated global heroin and morphine supply, a near monopoly,&rdquo; writes the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Author&rsquo;s note:</strong> The Trump administration has a tough decision to make here. If they decide to stop the bleeding and pull resources, terrorist groups could gain more power in the region. He also has a point; we can&rsquo;t be spending millions to protect the country without something in return.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> While Afghanistan has not hit the media as much as North Korea or Syria, the whole area is a mess. It produces 80% of the world&#8217;s herion ;and is a hotbed of terrorist activity. Any criminal can get safe haven here and be essentially out of reach of the civilized world.</p>
<p> ;</p>