US President Donald Trump in a tweet on Saturday reiterated that the United States’ “endless wars” must end, indirectly referring to American forces’ presence in Afghanistan which is about to complete its two decades.
Trump has made similar remarks on many occasions over the past few months, including a rally of his supporters last week, where he said the US troops were supposed to be in Afghanistan for a short period of time, but “we’re now going to be there for close to 19 years” and “it’s time to bring them home.”
Early September, Trump called off negotiations with the Taliban, and subsequently said the talks with the group are “dead.”
Trump made the decisions after the Taliban admitted to an attack that killed at least 11 people, including a US soldier in Kabul.
Early October, a Taliban delegation met US special representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, two sources told Reuters, the first known contact between the sides since Trump called off talks last month.
The Taliban is ready to stand by a tentative agreement struck in Doha before Trump canceled the talks, according to Pakistan’s foreign minister and sources from the militant group, who said the insurgents were eager to resume negotiations, the report said.
Before the talks broke off, the United States and Taliban said last month they were close to reaching a deal, despite concerns among some US security officials and in the Afghan government that a US withdrawal could bring more conflict and a resurgence of Islamist militant factions.