— President Trump, who has been accused by lawmakers of dragging his feet on Afghanistan, has settled on a new strategy to carry on the nearly 16-year-old conflict there, administration officials said Sunday. The move, following a detailed review, is likely to open the door to the deployment of several thousand troops.

Mr. Trump entered office as the skeptic in chief, and any ramped-up engagement there poses political risks for the president, who rallied voters weary of war with his sharp criticisms of American involvement in the country.

"We should have a speedy withdrawal. Why should we keep wasting our money — rebuild the U.S.!" Mr. Trump tweeted about Afghanistan in January 2013, as he considered running for office in 2016.

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Talk of 'Preventive War' Rises in White House Over North Korea:

General McMaster and other administration officials have challenged the long-held view that there is no real military solution to the North Korea problem — though they are quick to acknowledge that it would be "horrible," as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis put it.

"Are we preparing plans for a preventive war?" General McMaster asked recently in a television interview. He answered his own question: "The president's been very clear about it. He said he's not going to tolerate North Korea being able to threaten the United States."