US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the US had resumed talks with Taliban insurgents as he made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with US troops.
On a brief visit to Bagram Airfield outside the capital Kabul, Trump served turkey dinners to soldiers, posed for photographs and delivered a speech after meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
“The Taliban wants to make a deal and we’re meeting with them and we’re saying it has to be a ceasefire,” he told reporters.
Photo: AFP
About 13,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan, 18 years after the US invaded following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Trump said that he planned to reduce the number to 8,600, and later added: “We can go much further than that,” without giving details.
“There’s nowhere I’d rather celebrate this Thanksgiving than right here with the toughest, strongest, best and bravest warriors on the face of the earth,” Trump, who was making his first trip to the war-torn country, told the troops.
“I’ve just come from serving Thanksgiving dinner to some of you ... and we had a good time,” he added.
Trump joked that he had not even tasted his turkey when he was called away.
“I should’ve started with that, instead of the mashed potatoes,” he said. “But I hope everyone enjoyed the fantastic meal. It certainly did look good and hopefully everyone can get some well-deserved rest this holiday.”
The US earlier this year reached a deal with Taliban insurgents to pull US troops from Afghanistan and wind down the US’ longest war in return for security guarantees.
However, Trump made a shock move in September, describing the year-long talks as “dead” and withdrawing an invitation to the insurgents to meet in the US due to the killing of a US soldier.
“We were getting close and we pulled back. We didn’t want to do it because of what they did,” Trump later said during a meeting with Ghani, referring to the death of the soldier. “Since then, we’ve hit them so hard. They’ve never been hit this hard.”
The Taliban refuse to negotiate formally with the Afghan government, although diplomatic efforts have continued to foster dialogue and an eventual peace deal.
On Thursday, Trump said that the war in Afghanistan “will not be decided on the battlefield” and that “ultimately there will need to be a political solution” decided by people in the region.
Trump has often vowed to pull out of the US’ “endless wars,” and he is eager to withdraw many troops from Afghanistan ahead of next year’s US presidential election, when he faces a tough battle to win a second term.
Afghanistan remains roiled by violence and US presidents are still only able to make fleeting, unannounced visits to Bagram — the biggest US base in the country — due to the security threat.
Ghani, who was only given a few hours’ notice about the visit, thanked Trump for pushing for “the type of peace that will ensure the gains of the past year and ensure your security and our security.”
The Taliban last week handed over two hostages — an American and an Australian — after three years in captivity in exchange for three high-ranking insurgent prisoners, a move seen as a boost to peace talks.
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