US President Donald Trump said that he could end the US’ longest-running war “in a week,” except that it would cost too many lives.
Trump on Monday complained that the nearly 18-year US campaign in Afghanistan is “ridiculous” in a White House meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
He said he could “win” the conflict, in which the US is trying to help Afghanistan’s government reclaim control of the country from militant groups, including the Taliban and Islamic State, “in a week,” but that 10 million people would die.
Photo: Bloomberg
“I don’t want to go that route,” Trump said. “Basically, we’re policemen right now.”
“We’ve made a lot of progress over the last couple of weeks, and Pakistan has helped us with that progress,” Trump said.
“A lot of things are happening for the United States, and I think a lot of great things are going to be happening for Pakistan under your leadership,” he added as he turned to face his counterpart.
The warm words and smiles signaled a clear reversal for Trump, who has in the past accused Pakistan of being duplicitous and last year cut US$300 million in security aid, alleging the Islamabad government does not do enough to combat terrorist groups.
“I’ve been looking forward to this meeting since I assumed office,” Khan said at the White House.
However, Afghanistan has asked for “clarity and explanations” from the US regarding Trump’s comments.
“The Afghan nation has not and will never allow any foreign power to determine its fate,” according to a statement released yesterday from the Presidential Palace in Kabul.
The US opened a new round of talks with the Taliban last month aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan, which began after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.
The talks between the US and Taliban have taken on greater urgency as Afghanistan heads for presidential elections on Sept. 28.
It is not clear whether the group will agree to participate in the elections after a possible peace deal.
Before the meeting, a senior administration official said that Trump would also demand that Pakistan’s government free Shakil Afridi, a physician imprisoned after helping the US government locate and kill Osama bin Laden.
The administration would judge Pakistan in part on its treatment of Afridi, the official said.
The official said that aid would only be restored if Pakistan satisfies US concerns about its support for both the Taliban and groups alleged to have engaged in terrorism in India.
Trump also told Khan that he would be willing to help resolve the long-running conflict between Pakistan and India over Kashmir — citing an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the Indian government later denied.
“If you would want me to mediate or arbitrate, I would be willing to do that,” Trump said. “I was with Prime Minister Modi, two weeks ago, and we talked about this subject, and he actually said: ‘Would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator?’ I said: ‘Where?’ He said: ’Kashmir.’”
Khan said that Trump would have the prayers of millions of people if he succeeded.
“I’ve heard so much about Kashmir, it’s such a beautiful name, it’s supposed to to be such a beautiful part of the world,” Trump said. “But right now there’s just bombs all over the place, they say everywhere you go, you have bombs, and it’s a terrible situation, been going on for many years. If I can do anything about that, let me know.”
Trump met with Modi at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, at the end of last month, but Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar yesterday said on Twitter that “no such request” has been made by Modi.
“It has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally,” Kumar tweeted.
However, his tweets were not enough to avert an uproar in the Indian parliament over Trump’s remarks.
“I’d like to categorically assure the house that no such request was made by the prime minister to the US president,” Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs S. Jaishankar told lawmakers, barely able to make his voice heard over the opposition tumult.
Jaishankar said the conflict could only be settled bilaterally and that Pakistan had to end “cross-border terrorism” before any talks, but opposition leaders demanded that Modi make a personal statement to parliament to confirm that there was no change in India’s policy.
Additional reporting by AFP
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