Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday said that President Trump’s strategy in Afghanistan is to make the Taliban realize they cannot win a war…
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday said that President Trump’s strategy in Afghanistan is to make the Taliban realize they cannot win a war against the US and should negotiate a peace.
“This entire effort is intended to put pressure on the Taliban to have the Taliban understand that you will not win a battleground victory. We may not win one, but neither will you, ” Tillerson said during a news conference at the State Department. “So at some point you have to come to the negotiating table and find a way to bring this to an end.”
He said the US is enlisting regional players, including Russia, China, India and especially Pakistan to put pressure on the Afghanistan government and the Taliban to “understand that this fighting is going to take everyone nowhere.”
Terror groups have received “safe haven” in Pakistan, he said, and are using the country as a base to plan and carry out attacks on US forces and to disrupt the peace process.
“Pakistan must adopt a different approach. And we are ready to work with them to help them protect themselves against these terror organizations and certainly to end their attacks that are disrupting our efforts at peace, ” Tillerson said.
He admitted that it could take some time for the US military to ” turn the tide.”
“It’s time to begin a process, it very well may be a lengthy process of reconciliation and a peace accord, ” Tillerson said.
He also echoed Trump’s comments during his speech at Fort Myer in Arlington, Va., when the president vowed to “fight to win” but would not give the enemy clues to its operations.
“We are not going to signal ahead what our plans are, ” he said, adding that “We are going to attack terrorists where they live.”
