President Trump and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan
VOA: Trump Writes to Pakistan's Khan to Seek Cooperation on Afghan Peace
ISLAMABAD — U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking Pakistan's cooperation in bringing the Taliban to the table for negotiating peace in Afghanistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he received a letter Monday from Trump to inform him that U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, is traveling to Pakistan this week for further discussions.
"He [Trump] wants Pakistan to play its part and use its influence to bring the Taliban to talks. We have a very prime position in it [Afghan peace], and we will certainly make an effort. I have long advocated for it [peace talks]," Khan said in remarks aired on state-run television.
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More News On President Trump Asking Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan For Help With The Afghan Peace Process
Trump asks Pakistan PM for help with Afghan peace talks -- Reuters
Trump sends letter to Pakistan asking for help with Afghan peace process -- Washington Post
Trump asks Pakistan PM for help with Afghan peace talks: minister -- Al Jazeera
Trump asks Pakistan for Afghan peace help -- News.com.au
Trump seeks Pakistan’s help in Afghan peace process -- Arab News
Letter to PM: Trump 'acknowledges Afghan war cost both USA, Pakistan' -- DAWN
On the surface I'd say Trump has exactly zero chance of Pakistan "helping" in any way after the stopping of foreign aid. But things usually go deeper than face value.
ReplyDelete"Things usually go deeper than face value." Agreed. Trump is typically not a man of wasted motion. If there were zero chance of success, I don't think he'd be doing this.
ReplyDeleteI think the foreign aid could be reinstituted as a condition of them assisting us here but we will need to see something concrete here. This is a mess. Trump did not create the mess. He inherited it and now is expected to solve it.
It is my considered opinion that in Afghanistan and a number of foreign policies areas we must first admit we've lost. Once this is admitted, we can then begin the pricess of "suing for peace" in order to get the best deal we can.
President Trump did not institute the previous failed policies nor did he create the current messes. In my considered opinion, this puts him in the best possible position to solve the problems as he is less likely to have an emotional attachment to them. It's hard for people to abandon their own creations at times even when experiential common sense would suggest that they should. After all it's "their baby."
To often I think POTUS and his team when trying to deal with this are trying yo sakvage the failures of the past and make them work. In actuality, what is needed in many cases is a complete 180 degree turn.
As stated, the first step here is admitting defeat, brgin the process of "suing for peace," and, if done properly, we can get the best deal possible for America and the American people. When a hole, the first thing to do is STOP DIGGING!!
Best case scenario this will all take time. If Trump can avoid the long knives of hos political enemies, I estimate a 99.95% he and his team get this done and our troops will be out of Afghanistan with an honorable peace by around this time in 2020.