Congress grills Trump administration officials over the future of Taliban talks after a U.S. airstrike hits Afghan civilians
The Trump administration is facing fresh bipartisan criticism for how it has handled its Afghan peace process after President Donald Trump announced that he had invited the Taliban to Camp David and then canceled the meeting.
An American team of negotiators led by special envoy Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad had held nine rounds of talks with the Taliban, the militant group that controlled Afghanistan and provided safe haven to al Qaeda when it plotted and executed the September 11th attacks. The two sides had reached an agreement"in principle" earlier this month, but were working out final details and awaiting final sign-off from both sides' leadership.
"The Camp David meeting was an utter disaster and never should've happened -- infuriated me, and I think even people that wanted to get out of Afghanistan, it ticked them off too," said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill,"and I have no clue how that could've gone through any kind of filter not just of ideas, but how we actually got to where it was going to freaking happen. So I hope that never happens again.
After Khalilzad briefed lawmakers behind closed doors, acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells bore Congress's ire and faced questions. A career diplomat, she defended the administration's approach to talks, but repeatedly declined to answer questions by saying that she couldn't reveal details of the agreement or that she wasn't in the room for talks.
Wells also defended Trump's Camp David invitation as evidence"this is an administration that is willing to take risks," before adding,"But I appreciate your concern" to one lawmaker.
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