MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2018) US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Sunday that he was open to the new ways of leading the war in Afghanistan, including the proposal to replace the US forces with private military contractors.
Last year, when Washington was developing a new strategy for Afghanistan, Erik Prince, the founder of security company Academi (formerly Blackwater), offered to send a small and privatized force to fight on behalf of the United States in the Asian country. Prince claimed that such decision could save Washington some $52 billion.
"There's always a lot of discussions � I'm always open to new ideas, but I'm not going to comment on what the thinking is. That will ultimately be the president's decision," Bolton told the ABC broadcaster, when asked whether he would consider the use of contractors in Afghanistan.
Earlier this week, media reported that US President Donald Trump might reconsider Princes proposal as he was dissatisfied with the US troops performance in the crisis-torn country. However, the National Security Council told the CBS broadcaster on Friday that such proposition was not under consideration.
The United States has been carrying out a counterterrorism operation in Afghanistan since 2001. However, on August 21, 2017, Trump announced a new strategy for Afghanistan, in which he talked about the need to attract other countries in the region to the settlement efforts in the crisis-torn Asian state, among other proposals.
