GOP lawmaker criticizes Trump’s planned meeting with Taliban in US

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) on Saturday knocked President Trump’s canceled meeting with Taliban leaders at Camp David, shortly after Trump announced he wasn’t moving forward with the secret meeting.

Appearing on CNN Sunday, Waltz said “as we head into the anniversary of 9/11, I do not ever want to see these terrorists step foot on the United States soil. Period.”

“I can understand the president’s frustration. Heck, the American people’s frustration. This war has been long, hard and costly,” Waltz said of Trump’s attempts to deal with the Taliban in order to end the U.S. involvement in the conflict, according to a clip of the interview shared by Mediate. “But that doesn’t mean that we can just walk away or just wish away these wars.”

{mosads}Trump last week said he canceled the meeting after the Taliban claimed credit for a recent deadly attack in Kabul that killed 11 civilians and a U.S. service member.

Trump was using the planned meeting at Camp David to further negotiate a peace deal, offering to withdraw troops in exchange for the Taliban to end fighting in the region.

Waltz said he doesn’t believe the Taliban have shown any desire for peace.

Waltz noted that his problem with the peace talks “is with the terms of the deal as we understand them now. I don’t think we are getting hardly anything in exchange for withdrawing our forces.”

“One of the major aspects of the deal was that the Taliban assured us that they would stop Afghanistan from being used by Al-Qaeda, ISIS and others to launch attacks on the West,” he said. “Even if you buy into those assurances, which I don’t, I don’t think they have the military capability to keep Al-Qaeda from using Afghanistan as a base.”

“I’m urging the president to walk away from this deal as it stands,” the first-term lawmaker added.

In a tweet Sunday, Waltz praised Trump for canceling the planned peace talks.

Smart move by @realDonaldTrump to cancel talks with the Taliban, who have repeatedly shown they’re not negotiating in good faith, nor can they prevent terrorism from resurging on their own soil.

— Rep. Michael Waltz (@RepMichaelWaltz) September 8, 2019

Waltz, a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces who served in Afghanistan, joined a few other Republicans over the weekend who denounced the planned peace talks on American soil

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) praised Trump’s decision to cancel the meeting but said the terrorist group shouldn’t “set foot” in Camp David. 

Camp David is where America’s leaders met to plan our response after al Qaeda, supported by the Taliban, killed 3000 Americans on 9/11.

No member of the Taliban should set foot there. Ever.

The Taliban still harbors al Qaeda.
The President is right to end the talks.

— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) September 8, 2019

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said the Taliban shouldn’t ever be allowed in the country since the group “hasn’t renounced 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country.” 

Never should leaders of a terrorist organization that hasn’t renounced 9/11 and continues in evil be allowed in our great country. NEVER. Full stop. https://t.co/pagnRFuFtc

— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) September 8, 2019