Article snippet: Peace talks with the Taliban are “dead,” MORE said Monday, following a roller-coaster weekend that saw Trump reveal and then cancel a planned Camp David summit with Taliban leaders. “They’re dead,” he said Monday of U.S. talks with the Taliban. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re dead.” The president’s comments on Monday came after some GOP lawmakers questioned the wisdom of hosting the Taliban for peace talks on U.S. soil just days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that led to the war in Afghanistan. Trump, who has been looking to shore up a peace deal in the 18-year war ahead of the 2020 election, said over the weekend that he canceled the meeting after a Taliban attack on Thursday killed 12 people, including a U.S. soldier. A summit with a peace agreement would have followed Trump’s penchant for spectacle in foreign policy as he works to achieve what has eluded the past two U.S. presidents in Afghanistan. Instead, Trump’s campaign promise to end America’s longest war appears to be fizzling out, though he has reversed course on major military decisions before. It’s unclear whether Trump will scale back the U.S. presence in Afghanistan without a Taliban deal. On Monday, he told reporters he is “looking at” whether to move forward with a drawdown, saying, “We’d like to get out, but we’ll get out at the right time.” Trump also accused the media of manufacturing drama following news reports that Vice President Pence and national securi... Link to the full article to read more
Taliban talks 'dead' after Trump's surprise Camp David plan | TheHill
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