Trump: Taliban Talks at Dead End

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The Wall Street Journal documents the fractures of consistent opinion between President Trump and senior officials concerning the now-canceled meeting of Taliban and Afgan leaders at Camp David. Trump, although previously in favor of the talks, now declares them to be irreversibly "dead" and reiterates previous threats of what the U.S military could do in Afganistan at the cost of millions of lives.
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First Published: 09/10/2019 12:12:59 am
Last Updated: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
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Content (12)
President Trump said talks between U.S and Taliban are "dead" on September 9th.
The U.S. has had18 year-long military involvement in Afganistan.
Zalmay Khalilzad is the U.S envoy to Afganistan.
Talks between U.S. and Taliban have been continuing for over a year.
A talk at Camp David was planned with Afgan and Taliban leaders.
Trump canceled Camp David talks with Afgan and Taliban leaders after a Taliban car bomb killed a U.S soldier.
“They’re dead. They’re dead. As far as I’m concerned, they’re dead,” President Trump said about Taliban discussions on September 9th.
The U.S State Department did not respond to questions about Khalilzad or Pompeo in regard to Taliban talks.
"Under proposed terms of a U.S.-Taliban agreement, the U.S. would withdraw about 5,000 troops within 135 days after completion of the deal."
"There are currently about 14,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan."
"U.S. officials on Monday said there are no immediate plans to decrease the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan."
On September 9th, Trump stated that he had not overridden his aides in planning meetings with the Taliban at Camp David.
Spin (12)
Trump told reporters that the U.S could take actions against Afgan insurgents that would end the war but cost millions of lives, which he does not want to do.
Khalilzad warned that a "threshold of agreement" between the U.S and the Taliban is in danger of disappearing.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo conveyed to reporters on Sunday, September 8th that he hoped Taliban talks would continue, but that it “..will ultimately be up to the Taliban.”
Mr. Trump’s pronouncement about Taliban talks appeared to contradict comments on Sunday by Mike Pompeo.
"Mr. Pompeo is among those who have proposed continuing talks with the Taliban, a person familiar with the administration deliberations said."
"Mr. Pompeo on Sunday said Mr. Khalilzad was being recalled to Washington “to chart the path forward,” indicating talks could resume."
Trump called off meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last year and threatened military action before reversing his decision and attending the summit.
"In July, Mr. Trump said, “If I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the Earth.” He added he wouldn’t take such a step because he didn’t want to kill 10 million people."
People familiar with the situation communicated that Vice President Pence and national security advisor John Bolton had told Trump that a summit with the Taliban at Camp David could be problematic.
"Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr. Trump said he didn’t consult any advisers before canceling the meeting."
Pence and Bolton had tried to prevent the Taliban meeting from taking place because of political implications.
"Mr. Trump in a Twitter post Monday afternoon didn’t dispute the existence of opposition to his plan to hold Camp David talks, but he denied that the decision to try to go ahead with the meeting caused turmoil at the White House."
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 0000-00-00 00:00:00
Date Accessed: 0000-00-00 00:00:00
Article Author: Vivian Salama and Michael C. Bender
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