President Donald Trump on Friday complimented the Taliban for being tough and smart, and said the United States is dealing well with the Afghan militant group.
The Taliban, whose rigid Islamist government was overthrown by U.S. forces which invaded Afghanistan a month after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, began peace negotiations with the Afghan government this week to end two decades of war.
“We’re dealing very well with the Taliban,” Trump told a news conference. “They’re very tough, they’re very smart, they’re very sharp, but you know it’s been 19 years and even they are tired of fighting, in all fairness.”
Trump, who is seeking re-election on Nov. 3, is eager to claim an end to America’s longest conflict, and his administration has voiced its intention to use aid as leverage to push for a peace deal in Afghanistan.
The United States is set to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by May 2021, subject to the Taliban meeting certain security guarantees.
Taliban and Afghan government peace negotiators held their first formal meeting on Tuesday in Doha, after an opening ceremony on Saturday which was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
He stressed that the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan will be less than 4,000 in near future. “And so we’ll be out of there, knowing that certain things have to happen — certain things have to be fulfilled. But 19 years is a long time, 8,000 miles away. Nineteen years is a long time,” Trump added.
This comes as H.R. McMaster, former U.S. national security adviser, said President Trump partnered with the Taliban ahead of this month’s peace negotiations in Doha but insisted on continued support of Washington to the Afghan government.
He expressed the remarks in an interview about his new book on the 53rd Season Premiere of 60 Minutes and was quoted in a report by CBS News on Friday.
McMaster said withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and partnering with the Taliban has made the United States less safe.
