US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain states that the US has no strategy to end the stalemate in Afghanistan.

The United States has no strategy to end the stalemate in Afghanistan, US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain said in a statement on Monday.

"After nearly 16 years of war, we are at a stalemate in Afghanistan. Worse, we have no strategy to end that stalemate and achieve victory," McCain said.

The US senator from Arizona recalled that Defense Secretary James Mattis had told the Armed Service Committee last week the United States was not winning the war in Afghanistan.

"And yet, six months into the new administration, it still has not delivered a strategy. We cannot keep going like this. If the administration fails to develop a strategy for success, Congress will need to play a greater role," McCain said.

In 2001, the United States and its NATO allies launched a war on Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks. That mission formally ended on December 28, 2014. However, on January 1, 2015, NATO announced a new mission in the country, called Resolute Support, to train and assist Afghan security forces.