President Trump said he plans to meet with leaders of the Taliban in “the not too distant future.”
At a hastily scheduled news conference on Saturday, meant to provide an update on the coronavirus outbreak, Trump began his remarks by talking about the progress made toward achieving peace in Afghanistan.
“I want to also thank and congratulate Secretary of State Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “And I’ll be meeting personally with Taliban leaders in the not too distant future.”
“We will be very much hoping that they will be doing what they say they are going to be doing. They will be killing terrorists. They will be killing some very bad people. They will keep that fight going,” the president said.
Asked where the meeting with the Taliban could take place, Trump said, “We’ll look at that,” and indicated possibilities including Camp David or overseas. The president canceled peace talks at Camp David, located in Maryland, last fall after a deadly bombing in Kabul.
American and Taliban officials signed a historic agreement Saturday that sets the table for a reduction of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and unprecedented negotiations between the militant group and the central government. The ceremony took place following the successful conclusion of a seven-day “reduction in violence” deal. The essence of the agreement involves a renunciation of terrorism by the Taliban, which sheltered Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda in the lead-up to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the start of peace talks in exchange for a gradual American withdrawal from the country.
“We want to bring our people back home,” Trump said about what would be a fulfillment of a key promise during the 2016 campaign.
“We’re very largely a law enforcement group, and that’s not what our soldiers are all about,” the president said, echoing his opposition to “endless war.” “I really believe the Taliban wants to do something to show that we’re not all wasting time. If bad things happen, we’ll go back,” he added later.
Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, criticized the deal.
“Signing this agreement with Taliban is an unacceptable risk to America’s civilian population. This is an Obama-style deal. Legitimizing Taliban sends the wrong signal to ISIS and al Qaeda terrorists, and to America’s enemies generally,” Bolton tweeted on Saturday.
