Donald Trump believed that Americans were getting their “asses kicked” in Afghanistan and strongly called for the US troops' withdrawal from the country, John Bolton’s new book "The Room Where it Happened” claims.
“It’s a horror show. At some point, we’ve got to get out,” the US president reportedly said in one of the meetings in late 2018.
“Millions of people killed, trillions of dollars, and we just can’t do it. Another six months, that’s what they said before, and we’re still getting our asses kicked”, Trump is quoted as saying.
But when asked about what to do with Daesh* terrorists in the country, the president reportedly told his staffers: “let Russia take care of them”.
According to Bolton, Trump also recognised that his initial 2017 “strategy” in relation to the country “was wrong”.
“We’ve lost everything. It was a total failure. It’s a waste. It’s a shame. All the casualties. I hate talking about it,” the president reportedly said during the same meeting.
However, the former security advisor argued that Trump still had “trouble taking responsibility” for some of his decisions, as he also lashed out at his ex-Secretary of Defence James N. Mattis for the US failures in the country.
“I gave you what you asked for. Unlimited authority, no holds barred. You’re losing. You’re getting your ass kicked. You failed,” he allegedly said.
The book claims that by late 2018, Afghanistan had turned into “a sore spot” for Donald Trump. The US president, however, so far, has slammed John Bolton for releasing “confidential information” by his book, which he said contained many lies and misinformation.
In February 2020, the United States and Taliban movement signed an agreement “bringing peace” to Afghanistan, outlining the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country within 14 months if the militias stick to the deal. It was estimated this June that the number of US troops in the country has now reached 8,600.
*Daesh (aka Islamic state/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist group banned in Russia.