Trump: US Role in Afghanistan Has Become ‘Ridiculous’ Police Force

Says US needs continued presence

Speaking on Afghanistan, President Trump remained non-committal on the peace plan being negotiated with the Taliban, continuing to say only that “we’ll see what happens.” He did, however, point toward clearly being inclined to end the war.

Trump says that after 18 years the US is “not really fighting” in Afghanistan, but rather acting as a “ridiculous” police force, adding “we’re not supposed to be a police force.”

All indications are that the Afghan peace deal is all set to go, and Trump was briefed on the matter on Friday. Exactly what his position is, however, still isn’t entirely clear, as he both talks down the merits of staying but emphasizes his willingness to keep troops there.

On top of that, Trump also felt the need to reiterate his claim that he could “win” Afghanistan within a week if he really wanted to, but that it would involve killing 10 million people and “I’m not looking to do that.”

Afghan officials didn’t react well last time Trump suggested this was an option. Trump now emphasizes that this would be a non-nuclear effort, though he did not elaborate how the US would kill 10 million people in a single week without nuclear arms.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.