Trump criticized for planning to meet Taliban leader

US President Donald Trump on September 8 announced the cancellation of planned peace talks with the Taliban leader just hours after the Afghan insurgent group carried out a series of suicide bombings in the capital Kabul last week that killed 12 people, including an American soldier.

Trump’s announcement immediately sparked criticism from US lawmakers about both the location and timing of the secret peace talks. If the talks were to go ahead as planned, the Trump administration would invite Taliban members to the US, specifically to Camp David, the retreat of many US presidents.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney, daughter of former US Vice President Dick Cheney, strongly opposed the idea of ​​inviting Taliban members to Camp David. "That's where US leaders met to plan our response after al-Qaeda, with Taliban support, killed more than 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001," she wrote on Twitter.

Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a US Air Force veteran, agreed, saying that members of Al-Qaeda "should never" be allowed in the US.

The timing of Trump's proposed peace talks with the Taliban also surprised many. "Trump bringing the Taliban to the US on the anniversary of 9/11?" Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell asked on Twitter, while former Republican congressman Justin Amash wrote, "How about ending the war without inviting the Taliban to dinner on 9/11?"

The US and the Taliban agreed earlier this week on a draft peace deal that would see Washington withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan in the coming months. In return, the Taliban would pledge not to use the country as a base for attacks on the US and its allies.

Still, a peace deal to end America’s longest war will require a series of negotiations between Afghan factions. The Taliban have rejected the ceasefire proposal and stepped up attacks across the country.