Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Trump Says He Could Win Afghanistan War In a Week
Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!


Trump Says He Could Win Afghanistan War In a Week

July 22, 2019 at 3:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump touted a secret plan to win the war in Afghanistan “in a week” at a tremendous cost to life, but insisted he would rather work with regional partners to “extricate” U.S. troops and bring to a close the nearly two-decade-long military conflict, Politico reports.

Said Trump: “If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. I just don’t want to kill 10 million people.”

He added: “I have plans on Afghanistan that if I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the Earth. It would be gone. It would be over in — literally in ten days. And I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to go that route.”

FavoriteLoadingSave to Favorites
  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Threads
  • Facebook
  • Email

Filed Under: Foreign Affairs Tagged With: Afghanistan


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

  • ✔ Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
  • ✔ If you're already a member, log in for the full experience.



Recent Posts

U.S. Stocks Eclipsed by Rest of World

December 29, 2025 at 9:49 am EST

“U.S. stocks have been eclipsed by market gains in the rest of the world in 2025, as worries about high valuations, a Chinese artificial intelligence breakthrough and Donald Trump’s radical…

Trump Says U.S. ‘Knocked Out’ Facility in Venezuela

December 29, 2025 at 9:36 am EST

President Trump said the United States had taken out a “big facility” last week as part of a pressure campaign against Venezuela but did not provide further details on the…

20% Off Any New Membership

December 29, 2025 at 9:30 am ESTDecember 29, 2025 at 9:37 am EST

Become a Political Wire member and unlock exclusive analysis, trending news, bonus newsletters, the Trial Balloon podcast, and an ad-free experience — all for 20% off an Annual Plan. Save…

The New Surveillance State Is You

December 29, 2025 at 9:26 am EST

Wired: “Privacy may be dead, but civilians are turning conventional wisdom on its head by surveilling the cops as much as the cops surveil them.” Save to Favorites

How Kevin Hassett Became a Fed Chair Contender

December 29, 2025 at 9:22 am EST

“For years, Kevin Hassett, an economist who advised the presidential campaigns of John McCain, George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, favored classic conservative economic principles. A longtime scholar at the…

Looking for a Political Job?

December 29, 2025 at 9:20 am ESTDecember 29, 2025 at 9:25 am EST

Take time to visit the completely revamped Political Job Hunt. Save to Favorites

Experts Question Denmark’s Vaccine Program

December 29, 2025 at 9:19 am EST

“The United States, a nation of 343 million people with a complex and overburdened health care system, is poised to adopt the childhood vaccine recommendations used in Denmark, a country…

Trump Approval Underwater in 49 States on Inflation

December 29, 2025 at 9:17 am EST

G. Elliot Morris: “By now, we should all know that Donald Trump is very unpopular nationally, but what does that mean at the state level?” “The charts below show estimated…

Is Beth Macy the Liberal JD Vance?

December 29, 2025 at 7:31 am EST

Politico: “One need not be a citizen of the Appalachia-based 6th Congressional District of Virginia for that to be the case. For a certain class of book-reading American — the…

These Former Members Want Back In

December 29, 2025 at 7:25 am ESTDecember 29, 2025 at 7:25 am EST

The Washington Post reports at least 18 former members of Congress — 11 Democrats and seven Republicans — are asking voters to send them back to D.C. next year. Save…

Be Prepared to Keep Paying More for Electricity

December 29, 2025 at 7:22 am EST

“Most Americans are paying more for electricity—and need to prepare their wallets for further pain ahead,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Data centers are getting much of the blame lately…

Justice Department Targets Companies on DEI

December 29, 2025 at 7:19 am EST

“The Trump administration has launched investigations into the use of diversity initiatives in hiring and promotion at major U.S. companies, built on the novel use of a federal law meant…

Just Keeping Trump Talking Counts as a Win

December 29, 2025 at 7:17 am ESTDecember 29, 2025 at 7:23 am EST

“A new round of peace talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and President Trump seem to have produced little beyond a promise to meet again next month and a…

Netanyahu Faces Mounting Pressure

December 29, 2025 at 7:15 am EST

“Benjamin Netanyahu has been prime minister of Israel for so long that nearly everyone knows how he governs,” the New York Times reports. “He delays decisions. He keeps options open…

Pipe Bomb Suspect Confessed

December 29, 2025 at 6:41 am ESTDecember 29, 2025 at 7:26 am EST

“The Virginia man arrested this month on charges of placing two pipe bombs in Washington on the night before a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has…

How Vance Brokered a Truce Between Musk and Trump

December 29, 2025 at 6:37 am EST

Washington Post: “The months-long offensive by Vance and other White House officials, the details of which have not been previously reported, has worked.” “Having scrapped his third party project, Musk…

Quote of the Day

December 29, 2025 at 6:33 am EST

“Our side has been trained by Donald Trump to never apologize and to never admit when you’re wrong. You just keep pummeling your enemies, no matter what. And as a…

Zelensky Wants 50-Year Security Guarantee

December 29, 2025 at 6:29 am EST

Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky said Monday that he has asked for up to 50 years’ worth of security guarantees for Ukraine during his meeting with President Trump at the weekend,…

China Announces Military Drills Around Taiwan

December 28, 2025 at 9:50 pm EST

China’s military announced it was mobilizing army, navy, air and rocket units around Taiwan in major military drills to test what it said was combat readiness and to send a…

Trump’s Year of Media Capture

December 28, 2025 at 9:28 pm ESTDecember 28, 2025 at 9:29 pm EST

John Avlon: “This was the year when public broadcasting was gutted and hyper-partisans prospered, when the First Amendment was exhaustively praised and opportunistically abandoned. It was the year when media…

« Trump Campaign Sells 140K Plastic Straws
Trump May Watch ‘a Little Bit’ of Mueller Testimony »

Get Smarter About Politics

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, the Trial Balloon podcast, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • Holiday Mailbag
  • The Epstein Cover Up Enters a New Phase
  • Arguing With Voters About the Economy Never Works
  • Democrats Are Mistaking Momentum for a Mandate
  • What Was That?

Word of the Day

Woke: “Woke” is a term that has evolved and expanded in usage, particularly within political and cultural discourse.

Read the full definition

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2025 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC