Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised that the Trump administration will not allow al Qaeda terrorists to regroup in Afghanistan and threaten the United States.
Pompeo discussed President Trump’s Middle East policy with ABC host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, after the president canceled a planned meeting with leaders of the Taliban and the Afghanistan government at Camp David.
The Trump administration had been trying to negotiate an agreement to pull American troops out of Afghanistan, though those talks are now tabled after a Taliban-claimed attack in Kabul killed one U.S. soldier.
Regarding Trump’s long-term strategy, Stephanopoulos asked, “Won’t [pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan] increase the prospects that the Taliban can gain strength and make this a standing ground for al Qaeda again?”
“We’ll never let that happen,” Pompeo answered.
Pompeo stopped short of committing to troop withdrawal, but asserted that the Trump administration would accomplish its goal of “peace and reconciliation,” and that the U.S. government would “conduct a mission in Afghanistan in a way that reduces risk to the American people.”
