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Trump Pays Surprise Visit to US Troops in Afghanistan

Trump Pays Surprise Visit to US Troops in Afghanistan
folder_openAfghanistan access_time4 years ago
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By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump paid a surprise Thanksgiving visit to Afghanistan on Thursday, where he announced the US and Taliban have been engaged in ongoing peace talks and said he believes the Taliban wants a ceasefire.

On his first trip to the site of America's longest war, Trump arrived at Bagram Air Field shortly after 8:30 p.m. local time Thursday and spent more than two-and-a-half hours on the ground, serving turkey, thanking the troops and sitting down with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

As per tradition, reporters were under strict instructions to keep the trip a secret to ensure his safety in the country. About 12,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan.

Traveling with a small clutch of aides, including his acting chief of staff, press secretary and national security adviser Trump appeared in good spirits as he was escorted around the base by heavily armed soldiers.

During his visit, Trump said the US and Taliban have been engaged in peace talks and insisted the Taliban want to make a deal after heavy US fire in recent months.

"We're meeting with them," Trump said. "And we're saying it has to be a ceasefire. And they don't want to do a ceasefire, but now they do want to do a ceasefire, I believe... and we'll see what happens."

The trip comes after Trump abruptly broke off peace talks with the Taliban in September, canceling a secret meeting with Taliban and Afghan leaders at the Camp David presidential retreat after a particularly deadly spate of violence, capped by a bombing in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier.

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