Hun, the Taliban are bad guys really bad guys...if they let the plane go, they did so for a reason such as the other or even the americans on board are soon to be suicide bombers or like CUBA, the criminal element being shipped here to cause trouble in other ways.
— Pompeo, interview on CBS News, March 1, 2020
“Are they really living up to that commitment? It’s our expectation. I met with them myself when I was in Doha. I looked them in the eye. They revalidated that commitment.”
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© Patrick Semansky/AP In this Nov. 21, 2020, photo, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the Taliban's peace negotiation team, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool, File)
Witness the case of former secretary of state Mike Pompeo. In early 2020, as the incumbent at the State Department, he touted the Trump administration’s agreement with the Taliban that set the stage for the departure of U.S. troops no later than May 2021, a deadline that President Biden briefly extended. He defended the deal — and his Taliban interlocutors — even as the agreement came under fire for not involving the Afghan government, for setting the stage for the release of 5,000 Taliban militants from Afghan prisons and for having weak language on ending the Taliban’s ties to al-Qaeda. Although over the following 14 months attacks against U.S. troops largely ended, the Taliban built up its capacity for the stunning offensive that quickly toppled the U.S.-backed government.
After Biden announced that he would fulfill the terms of the agreement and remove all U.S. troops, Pompeo appeared to support that decision as well. In July, when it appeared that U.S.-trained Afghan troops were being outfought by the Taliban, Pompeo (like Biden) put the onus on the Afghan government. But his tune changed once the government fell.
Here’s a timeline of statements by Pompeo on the agreement and his dealings with the Taliban, interspersed with data and facts about the conflict.
“After decades of conflict, we have come to an understanding with the Taliban on a significant reduction in violence across Afghanistan. This is an important step on a long road to peace, and I call on all Afghans to seize this opportunity.”
— Then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R), in a tweet, Feb. 21, 2020
“For the first time, [they] have announced that they’re prepared to break with their historic ally, al-Qaeda. … The [Taliban] gentleman whom I met with agreed that they would break that relationship and that they would work alongside of us to destroy, deny resources to and have al-Qaeda depart from that place.”
— Pompeo, interview on CBS News, March 1, 2020
“Are they really living up to that commitment? It’s our expectation. I met with them myself when I was in Doha. I looked them in the eye. They revalidated that commitment.”
— Pompeo, interview on Fox News, March 2, 2020
“We have seen the senior Taliban leadership working diligently to reduce violence from previous levels during similar time periods. And so we still have confidence that the Taliban leadership is working to deliver on its commitments.”
— Pompeo, remarks to the media, Sept. 11, 2020