Trump and the Taliban are telling wildly different stories about why he canceled a planned meeting at Camp David days before the 9/11 anniversary Sonam Sheth 1 hr ago
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Trump said he called off the meeting and any other peace negotiations due to a recent Taliban attack that killed a US service member and several others in Afghanistan.
The president went on to say that if the Taliban cannot agree to a ceasefire during the talks "and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don't have the power to negotiate in a meaningful agreement anyway."
But The New York Times reported on Sunday that the meeting's cancellation had more to do with the Taliban's resistance to the US's terms on a potential peace deal that would have seen 5,000 US troops withdraw from five bases in Afghanistan within 135 days.
According to the report, Trump originally planned to fly Taliban leaders and Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan, to Camp David, hold meetings with each side, and make a "grand announcement" once a deal had been reached.
But Taliban leaders reportedly believed the Americans were trying to trick them into "political suicide" and that the US was rushing to finalize certain issues related to the potential peace deal.
"We promised there would be intra-Afghan talks once we finalized our agreement with the Americans," a senior Taliban leader told The Times. "If Trump and his administration think they would solve the confrontation between the government and the Taliban somewhere in Washington in a meeting, that's not possible because we do not recognize the stooge government."
Trump drew immediate and sustained backlash after he announced that he had planned to fly Taliban leaders out to Camp David just days before the 18-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks. He was also criticized for appearing to express surprise that the Taliban had carried out the attack in Kabul this week.
The war in Afghanistan, which is often referred to as the US's "forever war," began shortly after the terrorist attacks.
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Reporting like this is what is wrong with America. Are they really trying to make the Taliban look better than President Trump?
Nope, they are reporting what happened. How that makes Trump look is up to the reader.
Bull. If Taliban arrived on our shores and I were the US president I would have immediately ordered their arrest charging them with Terrorism, violation of human rights and war
crimes against the people of Afghanistan.
Trump dared not to do that because The House of Saud still builds, maintains and funds The Madrassas. In short, he doesn't have the patriotism, understanding or the guts.
Trump just wants something he can claim he did that was actually a win. He has ZERO experience at diplomatic negotiations, he needs to STFU and leave that to people who can actually spell, "diplomatic negotiations".
These negotiations will go as well as they did with Lil'Kim and NK...a photo op, nothing more. Trump is a waste of orange skin. Maybe he should use his sharpie to get the Taliban to bend to his will.
Not a shocker that you would rather belittle President Trump over the Taliban.
That is my whole point of the article.
When he seals the deal and the violence stops? Then we can talk. Until then? It's just another failure by trump.
And he doesn't need to talk with the Taliban when they are blowing up people wouldn't you think?
Why would the violence stop? He needs to just pull out IMO, No matter what he does the Anti trumpers will cry.
Like Obama did so much better?
Two troop surges in Afghanistan that accomplished nothing, and a piece of shit SOFU agreement that left the US tied to a weak and corrupt Afghanistan government. Great work./S
No matter what we negotiate the Taliban are coming back to try and reclaim power; and Afghanistan will have another civil war. We can keep wasting time and money; but those are the facts. I don't care who is doing the negotiating.
But, but, Trummmppppppp!!!!!
At what? killing women and children?
The left would never condemn the anointed one over his failed lead from behind policies.
Exactly. I guess Trump should have drawn a red line before trying to do talks with the Taliban. In my opinion we don't need to talk with the Taliban just bring our boys home and let Afghanistan go back to its feudal wars.
That is what is going to happen no matter how much we negotiate; or how long we wait.
The Taliban don't accept the government of Afghanistan. They are not going to coexist with it. Unless we want to enter Pakistan and wipe them out we are going to have to accept that the government the UN installed will not last.
He would have negotiated a golf course in Taliban territory, boasting that it would have the biggest sand trap ever.
Makes no sense?
The left can't Meme..
The left wing press siding with what the Taliban says over the President of the United states? color me shocked. I'm sure the Anti Trumpers will be supporting the Taliban too.
Compare the number of lies the Taliban has given the press to the number of lies Trump has given the press. As sad as it is to say, the Taliban is more honest than Trump.
Not surprising you would praise the Taliban over the President of the united states. They have a lot in common with the Democrat party.
I would never praise the Taliban. On the other hand Trump is a pathological liar. The US needs new leadership, as do the people of Afghanistan.
I didn't praise them, I stated a simple fact.
Really hmm calling the Taliban honest isn't praise.
Like I said I'm not surprised the left would rather side with terrorist. The same ones that call Antifa peaceful protesters.
Apparently reading the English language is not your forte. I never said the Taliban were honest, I said they were more honest than Trump.
You're not surprised because you're spinning and twisting to try and make that claim. Unfortunately, so far, you have not been able to "HONESTLY" do so.
the Anti Trumpers will be supporting the Taliban too.
Not this Anti Trumper. I find them to be the lowest form of life along with rapists and pedophiles. If they all died out like the dinosaurs they are, I would not shed a tear. It is the Trumpetts who still back Trump after inviting them on US soil.
Two liars. Liars on each side (Trump and Taliban). Who to believe? Probably neither.
I'd like to believe the US president but he is a scumbag who has lied to his own countrymen thousands of times.
It's impossible to assume he is telling the truth about anything. Same for the Taliban.
Afghanistan could have solved itself in 2002 when the US and Allies invaded on the pretext of capturing those responsible for the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 on US soil.
1. Arm, train Afghan women, creating brigades of forces whose sole purpose was to rid their nation of Taliban and religious extremism.
2. Offer $250 bounty on every Taliban beard. $1,000 bounty if lower jaw is still attached.
This total war against all forms of religious extremism could have spread across the Middle East like a wildfire. After all, few people desire to live in chains. Religious or otherwise.