Anchor Chris Wallace on this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” pressed former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the Trump administration’s deal with the Taliban in light of the current chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Wallace said, “Critics say that for the U.S. to cut a deal with the Taliban without the Afghan government even in the room was hugely demoralizing and led inevitably to where we are today.”
Pompeo said, “Chris, that’s just simply not true. Go read the deal. Go read the conditions that were built into the deal. I was in the room. I was at the center of working to deliver that.”
Wallace continued, “I just want to ask you one more question about your record, though, sir. You were the first American secretary of state to ever meet with the Taliban, and you talked about how they had agreed to join us in the fight against terrorism.”
He added, “Do you regret giving the Taliban that legitimacy? Do you regret pressing the Afghan government to release 5,000 prisoners, which they did, some of whom are now back on the battlefield fighting with the Taliban?”
Pompeo said, “You make peace with your enemies.”
He added, “We didn’t take the word of the Taliban. We watched their actions on the ground. When they did the right thing and helped us against terror, that was all good, and when they didn’t, we crushed them.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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