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- Representative Adam Kinzinger criticized Trump and Pompeo for their negotiations with the Taliban last year.
- “They made it fail,” Kinzinger told CNN.
- Kinzinger also blamed Biden for the current failure in Afghanistan.
Representative Adam Kinzinger criticized the former Trump administration’s deal with the Taliban, saying on Sunday it was paving the way for the current failure in Afghanistan.
The Illinois Republican said former President Donald Trump and his then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were responsible for the “catastrophic” US withdrawal from the country.
“Donald Trump was saying publicly: ‘We have to leave Afghanistan at all costs. It is not worth it.’ Mike Pompeo is meeting with the Taliban and trying to “negotiate” something, “Kinzinger said during an appearance on CNN.
“They ended up getting ripped almost as badly as Neville Chamberlain,” he continued, referring to the British Prime Minister who negotiated the Munich agreement of 1938, which was widely seen as allowing the invasion. Nazi Poland.
“They made it fail,” Kinzinger said.
GOP Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming also blasted Trump’s deal on Sunday, calling it a “surrender” to the Taliban.
“We sat down and negotiated with terrorists,” Cheney told NBC News. “We gave credibility to the Taliban… We completely undermined the Afghan national government. We absolutely emboldened the Taliban.
While President, Trump was eager to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan and end America’s longest war. But he took an unprecedented step in trying to achieve that goal: negotiating directly with the Taliban. His administration engaged in a series of talks with the militant group in Qatar and even invited them to a secret meeting at the presidential retreat from Camp David for the anniversary of September 11, 2019. Trump then overturned that decision after he quit ‘Taliban attack killed an American. military in Afghanistan.
Still, Trump struck a deal with the Taliban in February 2020, which stipulated that US troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan within 14 months provided the Taliban did not turn the country into a terrorist base. The deal was widely criticized at the time for joining the Taliban and excluding the Afghan government. Pompeo attended the signing ceremony and took photos alongside Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is expected to lead the next Taliban government in Afghanistan.
Trump has now tried to extricate himself from the situation and blamed President Joe Biden alone on the Taliban takeover and the collapse of the Afghan government.
—State of the Union (@CNNSotu) August 22, 2021
Although Kinzinger attacked Trump on Sunday, he also blamed Biden, who “could easily have turned things around” once he became president.
“Republicans are posting talking points to make Biden look bad. Democrats are posting talking points to highlight the previous administration. In truth, they’re both responsible,” Kinzinger said.
“Both parties have failed the American people,” he added.
Biden has agreed to implement Trump’s deal and withdraw from Afghanistan. This week, he defended his withdrawal of US troops, despite widespread criticism from both sides of the aisle amid disturbing scenes emerging from Kabul of people demanding to leave the country and the resurgence of the Taliban.
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