Politics

16 years since the Bush administration launched its military intervention in Afghanistan, President Trump has announced his intention to increase the U.S. military presence in the country. As Statista's Niall McCarthy notes, there are approximately 8,400 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan and reinforcements could start arriving within days. Trump's new strategy is set to extend the longest war in U.S. history and add even further to its already staggering cost.

Authored by Alastair Crooke via ConsortiumNews.com,

America’s Deep State players have tied down President Trump on Russian sanctions and other foreign and economic policies but that doesn’t mean the struggle is over...

President Trump has had his foreign policy hands and feet tied by the Russia (and Iran) Sanctions Act. 

Just hours after North Korea fired a ballistic missile across Japan, South Korea has released footage of its testing of a new ballistic missile, in a show of "overwhelming force."

While The White House has yet to respond to North Korea's provocation, South Korea's Blue House has stated that:

"We are considering the development of strategic assets in the US and we will consult with the United States."

Background here.

By Kristen Breitweiser, one of the four 9/11 widows – known as the “Jersey Girls” – instrumental in forcing the government to form the 9/11 Commission to investigate the 2001 attacks. Follow Kristen Breitweiser on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kdbreitweiser.

Presidential job approval is a simple, yet powerful, measure of the public's view of the president's job performance at a particular time. Approval ratings for Presidents Obama and Trump shown in the Presidential Job Approval Center are based on weekly Gallup Daily tracking averages.

From Truman to Trump...

On day 212 in office, President Trump has a 37% approval rating.

President Truman holds the record for lowest approval rating (for now) at 22% on day 2499 in office.