Trump says he canceled secret Taliban meeting at Camp David

WASHINGTON-The Associated Press

President Donald Trump said he canceled a secret weekend meeting at Camp David with Taliban and Afghanistan leaders after a bombing in the past week in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier, and has called off peace negotiations with the insurgent group.

Trump's tweet on Sept. 7 evening was surprising because it would mean that the president was ready to host members of the Taliban at the presidential retreat in Maryland just days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. More than 2,400 U.S. troops have been killed since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan to go after the Taliban, which were harboring al-Qaida leaders responsible for 9/11.

Canceling the talks also goes against Trump's pledge to withdraw the remaining 13,000 to 14,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan and end U.S. involvement in a conflict that is closing in on 18 years.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the Trump administration's diplomat talking to the Taliban leaders for months, has said recently that he was on the "threshold" of an agreement with the Taliban aimed at ending America's longest war. The president, however, has been under pressure from the Afghan government and some U.S. lawmakers, including Trump supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who mistrust the Taliban and think it's too early to withdraw American forces.

"Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders and, separately, the President of Afghanistan, were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sept. 8," Trump tweeted.

"They were coming to the United States tonight. Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great great soldiers, and 11 other people. I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations," he wrote.

On Sept. 5, a Taliban car bomb exploded and killed an American soldier, a Romanian service member and 10 civilians in a busy diplomatic area near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. The bombing was one of many attacks by the Taliban in recent days during U.S.-Taliban talks.

The Defense Department says Sgt. 1st Class Elis A. Barreto Ortiz, 34, from Morovis, Puerto Rico, was killed in action when the explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was the fourth U.S. service member killed in the past two weeks in Afghanistan.

"What kind of people would kill so many in order to seemingly strengthen their bargaining position? They didn't, they only made it worse!" Trump tweeted. "If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don't have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway. How many more decades are they willing to fight?"

It remains unclear if the U.S.-Taliban talks are over or only paused. Trump said he called off the peace negotiations after the bombing, but Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy negotiating with the Taliban, was meeting with leaders of the insurgent group in Doha, Qatar, on both Sept. 5 and Sept. 6.

The State Department and the White House declined to respond to requests for clarification.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told The Associated Press he could not immediately confirm Trump's account of a Camp David meeting, and he withheld comment for now.

"It is a political issue," he said. "We are waiting for our leaders and will update you."

The Afghan government in a statement did not directly respond to Trump's announcement, saying simply that "we have always said that a real peace will come when the Taliban stop killing Afghans and implement a ceasefire and start direct negotiations with the Afghan government" on the country's future - talks that were meant to quickly follow a U.S.-Taliban deal. "The government of Afghanistan appreciates the sincere efforts of its allies in peace and is committed to working together with the United States and other allies in the future to bring a sustainable peace."

Many in the Afghan government, which has been sidelined from the U.S.-Taliban talks, and among the Afghan people have been skeptical of the negotiations, fearing there was little if nothing in the deal to stop the Taliban from continuing its attacks against civilians. The two shattering Taliban car bombings in Kabul in the past week, which the insurgent group said targeted foreigners but killed far more civilians, renewed those fears.

Longtime Afghanistan watchers, including former U.S. officials, apparently didn't see this twist coming. After word emerged that a Washington visit by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had been postponed, some assumed Ghani had been trying to make a last-minute effort to meet Trump to express concerns about the nearing deal.

But one Afghan political analyst, Waheed Muzhda, said he believed that Khalilzad invited Ghani to Washington and then went to Qatar to invite the Taliban to come and sign the agreement. "The Taliban rejected his invitation and that made Trump upset," he said. The Taliban likely asked the U.S. to sign the agreement somewhere else such as Qatar, he added. "Unfortunately, all these efforts have come to an end with no result and I think the fight in Afghanistan will continue for years to come."

Laura Miller, Asia director for the International Crisis Group, said that whatever the reason for "pulling the plug" on talks, the U.S.-led peace process was in jeopardy.

"After all the violence during many months of negotiations, it's difficult to see why last Thursday's attack would be the sole reason for changing course," Miller said. "This could be a blow to the credibility of the U.S. commitment to the peace process. Hopefully it can be brought back on track because there's no better alternative."