RARE WAR ZONE VISIT
It was only the second trip to a war zone by a U.S. president who never served in the military and has often derided U.S. engagement in foreign conflicts as costly blunders. He traveled to Iraq in 2018 for a Christmas holiday visit with troops.
Trump was greeted upon his arrival by U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley said on Wednesday that a successful outcome from peace talks on ending the 18-year war in Afghanistan could happen in the “near term.”
Trump has wanted to end U.S. involvement in Afghanistan since his days as a presidential candidate.
But talks between the Taliban and the United States collapsed in September after Trump called off a planned meeting with Taliban leaders at the U.S. Camp David presidential retreat, citing a surge in Taliban violence.
The U.S. military says it has ramped up strikes and raids on the Taliban since then, in a bid to pressure the insurgents back to the negotiating table.
Hopes for peace rose earlier this month, when the Taliban released American and Australian hostages.
But Ghani underscored the need for a halt in the fighting, saying on Twitter after meeting Trump: “If the Taliban are sincere in their commitment to reaching a peace deal, they must accept a ceasefire.”
TRUMP EYES DEAL ‘OR TOTAL VICTORY’
There are currently about 13,000 U.S. forces as well as thousands of other NATO troops in Afghanistan, 18 years after an invasion by a U.S.-led coalition following the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the United States.
About 2,400 U.S. service members have been killed in the course of the Afghan conflict.
A draft accord agreed in September would have thousands of American troops withdrawn in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan would not be used as a base for militant attacks on the United States or its allies.
Still, many U.S. officials doubt the Taliban could be relied upon to prevent al Qaeda from again plotting attacks against the United States from Afghan soil.
The U.S. military has said it can go down to 8,600 troops and still carry out an essential counter-terrorism mission in a country where both al Qaeda and Islamic State fighters would continue to pose a threat even after any Taliban peace deal.
Trump acknowledged U.S. troop levels were “substantially” coming down but did not provide a specific number.
At the same time, however, Trump suggested he was willing to have U.S. forces stay in Afghanistan for the long-term, if needed.
“We’re going to stay until such time as we have a deal or we have total victory. And they want to make a deal very badly,” Trump said. —AFP
