The address gives President Trump a chance to reset after one of the most difficult weeks of his presidency. We have fox team coverage. Catherine herridge will tell us with the intelligence is saying. We start off with chief White House Correspondent john roberts at fort meyer in virginia. Good evening. The troops behind me are gathering in anticipation of going into witness the speech. The president has said repeatedly that the war in afghanistan is going nowhere and is in urgent need of a new strategy. What is expected tonight differs vastly from what hes advocated in the past. At the president s only public appearance today, watching the clips, he said nothing about tonights address although he is expected to announce more u. S. Troops will be headed to afghanistan. I think we are going to see him on general nicholsons request for more troops. About 4,000, to train the Afghan National army and police and the governance of my afghanistan. In 2013, donald trump was a fierce advocate of complete withdrawal. In a series of tweets writing weve wasted an enormous amount of blood and treasure in afghanistan. Their government has zero appreciation. Lets get out. And i agree with president obama on afghanistan. We should have a speedy withdrawal. Why should we keep wasting our money . Rebuild the u. S. As a candidate, he conceded he had little choice but to continue the fight. I would stay in afghanistan, probably the one place we shouldve gone in the middle east because its right next to pakistan which has nuclear weapons. I think you have to stay under the best you can, not that its ever going to be great for battle degree of much of a choice. Speak with the president made his decision after a meeting of his faux National Security council on friday. Three options were on the table. Stay and increased troop levels, pull out or replace u. S. Troops with private contractors. Private contractors, an idea advocated by steve bannon, wouldnt fly with military leaders. Pulling out, according to newt gingrich, isnt an option either. The last time we allowed afghanistan to be an empty space, it was filled with the taliban and al qaeda and the planning for 9 11 was done in afghanistan. We know if we pull out in the government collapses, youre going to have some combination of isis, al qaeda, and the taliban and running the country again. The president s announcement will be welcomed by the military which has advocated a larger troop presence. The president may be on less friendly territory tomorrow when he travels to phoenix. Phoenixs mayor has said he would prefer President Trump stay home. The president s meandering response to charlottesville and his pronouncement that hes considering a pardon for controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio who was convicted of criminal contempt of court. President trump avoided a potential conversation confrontation washington, announcing that he and the first lady will skip decembers Kennedy Center honors. Three of the five artists said they would either or were thinking about boycotting the preshow white house reception. The secret service denied a report that the increased demands of protecting President Trump and his family have left the service so strapped for cash it cant pay overtime. The service did acknowledge 1100 personnel were put in overtime they wont be paid for but said this issue is not one that can be attributed to the current administrations protection requirements but rather has been an ongoing issue for nearly a decade due to an overall increase in operational tempo. Plan the president is expected to outline tonight will be a comprehensive strategy for the Greater South asia region and will likely address pakistans lack of action against bad actors. As well as corruption in the kabul government. Bret john roberts in fort myer. Thanks. The prospects for success after 16 years in afghanistan are clearly in question tonight. How do you define success . What does winning look like there . The Intelligence Community has assessments. Catherine herridge has our stor story. Days before the Suicide Attack in the Afghan Capital diplomatic district, senior u. S. Officials told congress the outlook was grim. The taliban and network that sheltered Osama Bin Laden before 9 11 was making a comeback. A separate assessment by a special Inspector General found the taliban controls 40 of afghan districts. In april, another report by the state department highlighted a 30 spike in Afghan Security force casualties. The widespread use of vehicle bombs and suicide vests. Significantly, the report noted some of the devastating thoughts were planned and executed from across the border in neighboring pakistan. Traveling overseas, the defense secretary advocated for a broad approach. Its a south asia strategy, not just afghanistan. Mattis told reporters he needed firm policy direction before making a change. I was not willing to make significant changes until we knew the strategy. After january, the primary security responsibility transitioned from u. S. And Coalition Nations to the Afghan Security forces, the intelligence picture frayed. During testimony, the nations intelligence chief dan coats was blunt. Political and security situation in afghanistan will almost certainly deteriorate through 2018. Even with a modest increase in military assistance. With isis and al qaeda among more than a dozen terrorist groups, an analyst explained the calculus. What are our National Interests . Having an afghan country not a source of regional instability and not a platform for transnational terrorism. Critics accused the Obama Administration of downplaying the numbers. It took a largescale u. S. Operation in 2015 with air strikes to clear two major al qaeda Training Camps. Bret thank you. Lets get some perspective from a former special forces officer who served multiple tours in afghanistan. A retired green beret and a terrorism advisor. Author of the book warrior diplomat. He joins us from jacksonville, florida. Thanks for being here. I want to bring you uptodate. We got some new information. Fox news can confirm senior u. S. Officials say the president is signing off on additional 4,000 troops to afghanistan. A big part of the speech tonight, he will include asking the region to do more, india and pakistan to do more to bring the taliban to the negotiating table. When you hear that, read between the lines. I am proud of our president to make. This takes leadership. Afghanistan is incredibly difficult. Its a regional problem. I think what youre going to see in this announcement is, well, let me go into what you are not going to see. You are not going to see our troops doing nationbuilding. Youre not going to see hundreds of thousands of troops in direct combat. Youre going to see our soldiers advising and assisting the afghan army and building their capability to fight on their own. Thats going to take some time. You are also not going to see a bunch of arbitrary timelines. I was in my headquarters in afghanistan when president obama announced the surge but then announced when it was leaving. I think youre going to see some tougher demands of the afghan government, particularly when it comes to corruption, and youre going to see us get a lot tougher on pakistan and its support or at least turning a blind eye to the taliban, isis, other groups. And al qaeda as well. Finally, i think youre going to see us move closer to india. The Worlds Largest democracy, also really serving as a hedge against china and pakistan. We are going to see some strategy shift but at the end of the day, we could not withdraw. We couldnt do what we did in iraq and let the Islamic State move into afghanistan and still attack europe and still attack the United States. Bret from the reporting, adding to what you said, the president will announce he will hold pakistan accountable for attacks in its country and continuing to support the taliban and also asked whats different, officials saying the pace, scope, overall Pressure Campaign will be different than it has before. Do you buy that . I do. One of general mcmasters key lieutenants, lisa curtis, shes written for years about how to dial up pressure on the pakistani government. Theyve essentially been playing a double game in many ways. Part of that was because they were convinced the United States was just going to leave, and they were going to be holding the bag. I think part of the messaging here is this is in our National Interests. We are not going to let the Islamic State and al qaeda move in the wake of the televangelist we are going to eventually negotiate but its going to be from a position of strength. So pakistan region, you need to get on board with where we are going. We are not going to just turn our back and walk away. Bret we should point out iran is active inside afghanistan. They are. Iran has been playing a much bigger game here, and afghanistan is a piece of it. In terms of reinserting itself across the middle east from western afghanistan through iraq, syria, into lebanon and the mediterranean. They are creating a shia crescent and if they can tap into anyone in afghanistan, whether its their shia allies or the taliban and they have historically opposed, they will cut deals and have marriages of convenience for bigger iranian aims. Russia, china, pakistan, iran, reasons we cant turn our back on the region. I am absolutely convinced i cant say it enough. Isis will establish itself, its already trying, in afghanistan if we walk away. Im thrilled to hear the president has moved away from that option. Bret i want to put this up. Afghanistan by the numbers. You spent a lot of time on the ground there. 8400 u. S. Troops currently in afghanistan. 714 billion spent. 2,258 total deaths, 20,257 wounded. More than 11 of afghanistan still today controlled by insurgents or the taliban. For people who say this effort has been so long. There is that feeling. Sure. Believe me, i am frustrated. Theres a lot of frustrations and a lot of things we could have done better and should do better. At the end of the day, do we want to fight them in kandahar and kabul or in kansas city . Its a critical decision. This is going to look how things have looked in colombia where weve had soldiers. Weve had 30,000 soldiers in korea for almost 70 years. This is going to be a longterm effort unfortunately and in terms of troop numbers, weve had about 15,000 except for the surge period and we are going to see that into the foreseeable future. Bret mike waltz, thank you. What do you think . Let me know on twitter. At bretbaier. Use the hashtag specialreport. Or on facebook at facebook. Com bretbaiersr. Make sure you join us tonight for the president s address, special coverage starts at 8 55 eastern with President Trumps speech at 9 00. Martha maccallum and i will be here. We will have reports from the white house, pentagon, and our panel pre and postspeech analysis. Desperate search underway right now in the waters off malaysia and singapore for sailors missing commute another collision between the u. S. Navy warship and a civilian vessel. The navy has expanded its investigation. Its the second major collision involving a u. S. Navy warship in the past two months. The latest collision involve the uss John S Mccain, a guided missile destroyer, which collided with a liberian oil tanker three times its size near the busy strait of malacca. The warship is in singapore. Ten sailors remain missing. Four injured sailors airlifted off the ship. The navys top officer has called for a broader investigation. And operational pause taken in our fleets around the world. While traveling, jim mattis said he fully supported john richardsons efforts. He has put together a broader inquiry to look into the incidents and determine causal factors. This is the fourth major mishap for the u. S. Navy in the pacific since late january. A guided missile cruiser ran a grand in tokyo bay, spilling more than 1,000 gallons of oil. In may, a cruiser collided with a fishing boat. In june, the uss fitzgerald had a cargo ship, killing seven sailors. Two ship captains have been relieved for these mishaps. President trump responded as he returned to the white house for vacation. He later tweeted thoughts and prayers with our u. S. Navy sailors aboard the uss John S Mccain where search and rescue efforts are underway. The navy is down two destroyers. Further straining and already stretched navy. The navy is looking into how it qualifies Junior Officers to drive ships. Bret Jennifer Griffin live at the pentagon. Thank you. Another global story to update you on. Associated press thing officials have suspended the third for five Army Soldiers in a Helicopter Crash during offer training in hawaii. We will bring you more information as we get it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell is guaranteeing congress will raise the debt ceiling. Mcconnell told an audience in kentucky there is zero chance lawmakers will allow the country to default on its debt by voting not to increase borrowing limits. Stocks mixed. Dow gained 29. S p 500 of 3. Nasdaq los 3. Was it good for you . Total eclipse from coasttocoast. Depending where you were. A lights out experience and tonight the country reacts. One way come back. Fitting into my skinny jeans again . Thats cool. Feeling good in slim fit . Thats cool. Looking fabulous in my little black dress . Thats cool. Getting the body you want without surgery, needles, or downtime . Thats coolsculpting. Coolsculpting is the only fdacleared noninvasive treatment that targets and freezes away stubborn fat cells. Visit coolsculpting. Com today and register for a chance to win a free treatment. Not necessarily after 3 toddlers with boundless energy. But lower back pain wont stop him from keeping up. Because at a dr. Scholls kiosk he got a recommendation for our best custom fit orthotic to relieve his foot, knee, or lower back pain, from being on his feet. By reducing shock and stress on his body with every step. So look out world, dads taking charge. Dr. Scholls. Born to move. When this guy got a flat tire in the middle of the night. So he got home safe. Yeah, my dad says our insurance doesnt have that. What . . With liberty mutuals 24hour roadside assistance, get a jump, tow, and more any time of day. Switch and you could save 782 on home and auto insurance. Call for a free quote today. You can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. Liberty stands with you™. Liberty mutual insurance. Bret about everyone took a break this afternoon to go outside and look up or follow it on tv. Their first Solar Eclipse viewable in all of the continental u. S. And 99 years had american scrambling for those special glasses or makeshift viewing devices. Many people traveling to places theyd never heard of before. Dan springer was at ground zero for Pacific Northwest viewers in oregon. They Great AmericanSolar Eclipse started along the oregon coast. Darkness came to madras, oregon, in the morning. This is amazing. With the moon covering the sun, only the corona was visible. Oh, my gosh. Its dark. Probably the coolest thing ive ever seen. Amazing. Once in a lifetime. The reaction was the same as the shadow raced across the country. There were big eclipse parties throughout the 70mile wide, 2500mile long path of totality. The celestial show was over in the blink of an eye. Lucky viewers were treated to more than 2 minutes of darkness. The eclipse slipped off the coast of South Carolina just an hour and a half after it all began in oregon. Stick a very weird. Once the sun vanished, watching everybody scream and have a great time was a blast. Officials said this would be the most studied eclipse in history. A dozen major projects, many involving citizen scientists. Matt henry was among 1500 amateur photographers. I have seen a number of things, like the northern lights. This is the top. Even President Trump and his family took in a partial eclipse at the white house. All things come to an end. The eclipse is over, and madras is clearing out. This eclipse seemed to capture the attention of the nation for one day. Brought the country together and politics seem to take a backseat to a natural phenomenon that will be seen again in this country coasttocoast for 28 years. Bret dan springer and ground zero. Thanks. The debate is growing tonight over symbols of the confederacy and other historical events in light of last weeks racial violence in virginia. Officials at the university of texas removed statures of robert e. Lee and other confederate figures from the main campus overnight. The School President because the items symbols of modern White Supremacy and neonazi is in. This is a video posted today of two people vandalizing a 225yearold monument to Christopher Columbus in baltimore. The narrator says columbus initiated a wave of terrorism, murder, genocide, slavery, ecological degradation, capitalist exploitation of labo labor. The people who take care of monuments here in washington, d. C. , say they will update the Jefferson Memorial to reflect what they call the complexity of his status as a founder of the u. S. And a slave owner. Changes to other monuments in d. C. Are being considered. We are st