Trump under fire in wake of revelations that he bungled US-Taliban peace talks
- President says he scrapped Camp David talks after Kabul blast
- Republican congressman attacks invitation to Afghan ‘terrorists’
Donald Trump sprang a major surprise that drew criticism when he revealed there had been plans for secret peace talks on Afghanistan in the US beginning on Sunday and bringing him face to face with Taliban leaders at Camp David – but that he had cancelled the clandestine summit at the last minute.
A Saturday night tweet from the US president said that “unbeknownst to almost everyone” major Taliban leaders were going to meet him at the presidential retreat in Maryland and, separately, so was the president of Afghanistan, but that Trump had “called off” the negotiations after the Taliban claimed responsibility for a blast in Kabul that killed 12 people including a US soldier on Thursday.