Trump-Khan Meeting; US could Win Afghan War in a Week

Welcoming Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan at the White-House on Monday, Donald Trump said that if US wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan, it could win that war in a week, but 10 million people would be killed.

Welcoming Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan at the White-House on Monday, Donald Trump said that if US wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan, it could win that war in a week, but 10 million people would be killed.
“Pakistan’s going to help us out to extricate ourselves,” Trump said at an Oval Office meeting with Khan. “We’re like policemen. We’re not fighting a war. If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. But I don’t want to kill 10 million people. Afghanistan could be wiped off the face of the Earth. I don’t want to go that route.”

According to CNN, Trump added that there was hope that the Taliban would talk about peace in the coming days. A White House statement later acknowledged: “Pakistan has made efforts to facilitate the Afghanistan peace talks, and we are going to ask them to do more.”
US president praised Pakistan’s role in fomenting progress in the US-Taliban talks in recent weeks and said he believes Pakistan “is going to help us out to extricate ourselves” from the war in Afghanistan.
“The path to a strong and enduring partnership between Pakistan and the US lies in working together to find a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan.”

Khan, for his part, said that “We hope that in the coming days we will be able to urge the Taliban to speak with the Afghan government,”
“Right now is the closest we have been to a peace deal in Afghanistan,” he added.

US-Pakistan relations have been on rocky footing for years over Pakistan’s relationship with the Taliban, hitting a low point last year when Trump suspended US security assistance to Pakistan over what the US saw as Pakistan’s failure to clamp down on the Taliban and other militant groups operating out of Pakistan.

During the meeting, Trump was also asked to mediate in the Kashmir issue.
“If I can help, I would love to be a mediator,” Trump said. “It is impossible to believe that two incredible countries who are very, very smart with very smart leadership can’t solve a problem like that. If you would want me to mediate or arbitrate. I would be willing to do it.”