SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
President Donald Trump speaks during a memorial service at the Pentagon for the 9/11 terrorist attacks September 11, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images)
Days Before Talks With Taliban and Peace Deal, Trump Publicly Calls Secret Meeting Off
"He is literally the worst deal maker of all time."
Sep 08, 2019
President Donald Trump on Saturday abruptly and publicly shut down talks with the Taliban aimed at resolving the 18-year long Afghanistan War after the militant group claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on Thursday that killed a U.S. soldier and 11 others.
"He is literally the worst deal maker of all time," tweeted law professor Joyce Alene.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the talks are dead, at least for now, in an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
"If the Taliban don't behave, if they don't deliver on the commitments that they've made to us now for weeks, and in some cases months, the president is not going to reduce the pressure," said Pompeo.
The president made the cancellation announcement Saturday in a series of tweets.
"I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations," Trump tweeted. "What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position?"
The cancellation came ahead of what was expected to be an announced peace deal. According to journalist Jennifer Glasse, Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political envoy in Qatar, said on Saturday that the peace deal was "done, and signed off by all leaders--but supposed to be announced in Qatar."
The very existence of the talks was unknown until the president's declaration. The meeting was scheduled for Monday, September 9--just two days before the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that preceded the beginning of the Afghan war. The Taliban harbored attack mastermind Osama Bin Laden, leading to the invasion.
By revealing the talks were in such close proximity to the anniversary, Trump opened himself up to rare criticism from his Republican Party.
"Never should leaders of a terrorist organization that hasn't renounced 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country," tweeted Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). "NEVER. Full stop."
Kabul-based analyst Haroun Mir said in an interview with The Washington Post that Trump ending the talks had a "silver lining."
"Everyone was afraid the U.S. would sign a cease-fire but the Taliban would continue their war against the Afghan government and people," said Mir. "Now President Trump has personally rectified this with his own tweet."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump on Saturday abruptly and publicly shut down talks with the Taliban aimed at resolving the 18-year long Afghanistan War after the militant group claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on Thursday that killed a U.S. soldier and 11 others.
"He is literally the worst deal maker of all time," tweeted law professor Joyce Alene.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the talks are dead, at least for now, in an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
"If the Taliban don't behave, if they don't deliver on the commitments that they've made to us now for weeks, and in some cases months, the president is not going to reduce the pressure," said Pompeo.
The president made the cancellation announcement Saturday in a series of tweets.
"I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations," Trump tweeted. "What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position?"
The cancellation came ahead of what was expected to be an announced peace deal. According to journalist Jennifer Glasse, Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political envoy in Qatar, said on Saturday that the peace deal was "done, and signed off by all leaders--but supposed to be announced in Qatar."
The very existence of the talks was unknown until the president's declaration. The meeting was scheduled for Monday, September 9--just two days before the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that preceded the beginning of the Afghan war. The Taliban harbored attack mastermind Osama Bin Laden, leading to the invasion.
By revealing the talks were in such close proximity to the anniversary, Trump opened himself up to rare criticism from his Republican Party.
"Never should leaders of a terrorist organization that hasn't renounced 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country," tweeted Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). "NEVER. Full stop."
Kabul-based analyst Haroun Mir said in an interview with The Washington Post that Trump ending the talks had a "silver lining."
"Everyone was afraid the U.S. would sign a cease-fire but the Taliban would continue their war against the Afghan government and people," said Mir. "Now President Trump has personally rectified this with his own tweet."
President Donald Trump on Saturday abruptly and publicly shut down talks with the Taliban aimed at resolving the 18-year long Afghanistan War after the militant group claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on Thursday that killed a U.S. soldier and 11 others.
"He is literally the worst deal maker of all time," tweeted law professor Joyce Alene.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the talks are dead, at least for now, in an interview Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
"If the Taliban don't behave, if they don't deliver on the commitments that they've made to us now for weeks, and in some cases months, the president is not going to reduce the pressure," said Pompeo.
The president made the cancellation announcement Saturday in a series of tweets.
"I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations," Trump tweeted. "What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position?"
The cancellation came ahead of what was expected to be an announced peace deal. According to journalist Jennifer Glasse, Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political envoy in Qatar, said on Saturday that the peace deal was "done, and signed off by all leaders--but supposed to be announced in Qatar."
The very existence of the talks was unknown until the president's declaration. The meeting was scheduled for Monday, September 9--just two days before the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks that preceded the beginning of the Afghan war. The Taliban harbored attack mastermind Osama Bin Laden, leading to the invasion.
By revealing the talks were in such close proximity to the anniversary, Trump opened himself up to rare criticism from his Republican Party.
"Never should leaders of a terrorist organization that hasn't renounced 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country," tweeted Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). "NEVER. Full stop."
Kabul-based analyst Haroun Mir said in an interview with The Washington Post that Trump ending the talks had a "silver lining."
"Everyone was afraid the U.S. would sign a cease-fire but the Taliban would continue their war against the Afghan government and people," said Mir. "Now President Trump has personally rectified this with his own tweet."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.