Former President Donald Trump said he “personally had discussions with top Taliban leaders whereby they understood what they are doing now would not have been acceptable,” in a statement issued through the Save America PAC.
Since the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over much of the country’s rural and lands, and over the past six days, the insurgent group has conquered nine provincial capitals, primarily in the north. The group now controls an estimated 65 percent of the country’s territory and 10 of its 34 provincial capitals.
President Joe Biden announced in mid-April that he intended to have U.S. troops out of the country by September 11. At the time of that decision, a number of polls showed Americans, disillusioned by so-called “forever wars,” were in favor of the move. However, since the subsequent Taliban takeovers, a number of Republicans have criticized Biden’s approach, including the former president.
“It would have been a much different and much more successful withdrawal, and the Taliban understood that better than anyone,” Trump said in his statement. “What is going on now is not acceptable. It should have been done much better.”
via joemiller