WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has indicated that America might extend its military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, telling military graduates that they should look forward to seeing combat.
Addressing a group of graduates at the U.S. Military Academy West Point in New York, Pence said the young cadets should expect to fight America’s wars abroad.
"Some of you will join the fight against radical Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq,” he said, using a term coined by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for Daesh and other terror outfits fighting in the Middle East.
The remarks came days after Washington unveiled plans to send another 1,500 troops to the Middle East, where it’s already engaged in years-long battles.
The war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001 and has been churning on over the past 18 years, is the longest war in the U.S. history.
Washington attacked Afghanistan with the declared aim of ending the rule of the Taliban in the country. Today, however, the militant group remains in control of large parts of the country and is stepping up its attacks on foreign and Afghan security forces.
Pence’s remarks ran in contrast with Trump’s announcement last year that he was withdrawing troops from Syria and Afghanistan now that Daesh had been defeated.
Pence also suggested during his speech that the graduates could see combat on the Western hemisphere as well.
"It is a virtual certainty that you will fight on a battlefield for America at some point in your life,” Pence said. "You will lead soldiers in combat. It will happen. Some of you may even be called upon to serve in this hemisphere.”
The vice president said Trump had proposed a $750 billion military budget for 2020 because under his leadership the U.S. "is once again embracing our role as the leader of the free world”.
The ceremony was Pence’s second visit to West Point and his first as commencement speaker. Trump has yet to visit the academy himself.
In 2002, then President George W. Bush used the graduation ceremony to outline his doctrine of pre-emptive military intervention. A year later, he authorized the U.S. military to invade Iraq.
Since 2002, every West Point class has graduated at the time of war. This is while before from the end of the Vietnam War until the aftermath of the September 11 attacks no class in the academy graduated with country engaged in any conflict.