*PALM BEACH – US President Donald Trump hinted on Thursday he might soonvisit American troops in Afghanistan for the first time.*
Addressing service members in a Thanksgiving telephone conference, thepresident told one colonel deployed to the country: “I´ll see you back whenyou´re in the United States or maybe I´ll see you over there.”
Questioned later by journalists on whether he would make the trip, thepresident simply said: “At the appropriate time, we´ll be doing some veryinteresting thing.”
While 14,000 US military personnel remain deployed in Afghanistan 17 yearsafter the war began in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, theRepublican president has yet to make a visit after nearly two years inoffice.
Presidential trips to conflict zones are usually kept secret until the lastminute.
Trump also said the US is currently in “very, very strong negotiations”regarding Afghanistan.
Read Top Stories
“We are talking about peace,” he said, without explicitly confirming ifthose talks were directly with the Taliban.
“If something happens, that would be a great thing. I would be very happyabout that,” he added.
The Taliban say they have had at least three meetings with US officials inQatar in recent months, but the US has neither confirmed nor denied thesedirect talks.
The US special adviser to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said recently hewas cautiously optimistic about the possibility of a peace agreement aheadof the country´s election on April 20. – APP / AFP
