Trump partnered with Taliban ahead of Afghan peace talks, claims ex-security adviser

The former US national security adviser HR McMaster recently criticised President Donald Trump for his administration’s negotiations with the Taliban. In an interview with CBS' ’60 Minutes’, the retired lieutenant general said that moving to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan was an ‘unwise policy’. He also went on to say that Trump was ‘partnering with the Taliban’ ahead of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar. 

McMaster, who is set to release his new book ‘Battleground’, said that the US President ‘cheapened’ the lives of the American who died in Afghanistan by making too many concessions to the Taliban. He said that Trump administration’s negotiations with the Taliban go against, in many ways, the Afghan government. While speaking to the reporter, the former national security adviser said that Afghanistan requires a sustained commitment to help the Afghan government. 

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The United States signed the peace agreement with the Taliban back in February, hoping for the Afghan government to soon follow suit. Under the deal, America would withdraw all its troops within 14 months of the signing if the Taliban honoured its commitment. However, McMaster, who served as Trump’s second national adviser from February 2017 to April 2018, said that Trump was ‘partnering with the Taliban’ ahead of the peace talks. 

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McMaster criticises Trump 

McMaster has repeatedly voiced his criticism. Back in November, he had slammed Trump for moving to withdraw US troops from northern Syria, saying that the move would destabilise the region and offer opportunities for Russia to gain greater control in the area. Last year, he had also reportedly said that some his former White House Colleagues were a ‘danger to the constitution’ and were there to try to manipulate the situation based on their own agenda, not the president’s agenda. 

Meanwhile, coming back to his upcoming book, McMaster has focused on national security and foreign policy, including his contentious time with Trump. While announcing the release date, HarperCollins had called the book a “groundbreaking reassessment of America’s place in the world, drawing from McMaster’s long engagement with these issues, including 34 years of service in the U.S. Army with multiple tours of duty in battlegrounds overseas and his 13 months as a national security adviser in the Trump White House”. 

(With inputs from AP) 

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