The U.S defense secretary James Mattis on Thursday called on NATO allies to finish the job in Afghanistan or risk terrorist revenge as the alliance confirmed a troop increase to counter a resurgent Taliban.
Mattis however refused to give a firm number for how many troops U.S President Donald Trump would commit under a new strategy, the AFP reported.
"I don't put timelines on war, war is a fundamentally unpredictable phenomenon," Mattis told reporters after meeting his counterparts from the 29-nation alliance.
"The bottom line is that NATO has made a commitment to Afghanistan for freedom from fear and terror, and freedom from terror demands that you can't let this be undone,” he added.
Citing both Afghanistan and "ungoverned spaces" in Syria and Iraq where the Islamic State group has flourished, the retired Marine general added: "You cannot say 'I am tired of it' and come home and then you get hit again."
He said that after talks with the allies about 70 percent of the new plan's requirements were in place and he looked forward to bridging the remaining gap.
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