Trump says he canceled secret meeting with Afghan president, Taliban at Camp David
By Seung Min Kim and
Anne GearanSeptember 8 at 2:57 AM
President Trump said Saturday that he had canceled a previously undisclosed summit at Camp David with Taliban leadership and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after the Taliban took responsibility for an attack last week that killed a U.S. soldier.
Trump said the meetings had been set to take place Sunday.
On Twitter, the president appeared to cancel talks with the Taliban indefinitely, a significant blow to the peace process kicked off last year, which was nearing its conclusion.
In tweets Saturday evening, Trump wrote that he has “called off peace negotiations” and accused the Taliban of perpetrating the attacks to strengthen their negotiating hand.
“What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position?” Trump tweeted. “They didn’t, they only made it worse!”
He continued: “If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway. How many more decades are they willing to fight?”
Ghani had previously announced that he would travel to Washington. His trip had initially been planned for Saturday, but he delayed it for several days.
Following the news, Ghani’s spokesman said Sunday that his government appreciated Trump’s announcement and that the cancellation of the bilateral talks should open the way for direct talks between Afghan officials and the insurgents.
“We believe President Trump has a proper understanding of the situation and sees that the Taliban are not committed to peace,” said the spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi. “He understands that the Afghan government and people are concerned for a meaningful and long-lasting peace.”
“The Taliban must first stop the killing of Afghans and then it should talk directly to the Afghan government,” Ghani’s office said in a separate statement.
The canceled summit would have taken place just ahead of the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which led to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
The White House declined to provide further comment on Saturday.
News of the Taliban’s once-imminent arrival drew criticism from Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who serves in the National Guard. “Never should leaders of a terrorist organization that hasn’t renounced 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country,” he tweeted.
more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-he-cancelled-secret-meeting-with-afghan-president-taliban-at-camp-david/2019/09/07/650fb3b2-d1c7-11e9-b29b-a528dc82154a_story.html
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