But from the start, Mr. Trump made it abundantly clear that he wanted out of Afghanistan. At one stage halfway through the yearlong negotiations, Mr. Trump stumbled during a Fox interview, incorrectly saying that the number of American troops in Afghanistan was 9,000 and not the 14,000 it was listed at. But the peace talks colla psed last mont h when Mr. Trump pulled the plug on the deal his diplomats had finalized and initialed after a year of negotiations. American officials have since quietly signaled that they are trying to keep the talks with the Taliban alive. Earlier this month, the chief negotiator for the United States, Zalmay Khalilzad, met informally with Taliban officials in Pakistan.

Source: New York Times October 21, 2019 10:28 UTC