Was the Taliban coming to Camp David for secret meeting, as Donald Trump claimed?
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defends president’s now-scuttled plan as Donald Trump plays golf
- Talks would have taken place just ahead of 18th anniversary of September 11 terror attacks
Did the Taliban ever intend to come to Camp David this weekend, as US President Donald Trump claimed?
But the Taliban disputed that, saying its leaders had refused to come until the United States had signed an agreement hammered out by negotiators over the past year in the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar.
Trump instead said he was calling off further negotiations.
Either way, Trump’s abrupt disclosure of plans to meet at Camp David with the Taliban and, separately, with Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, drew unusual barbs from Republican lawmakers who traditionally support the president.
“Camp David is where America’s leaders met to plan our response after al-Qaeda, supported by the Taliban, killed 3000 Americans on 9/11. No member of the Taliban should set foot there. Ever,” tweeted Liz Cheney, a Republican congresswoman and daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney.