U.S. President Calls Afghanistan War “Unfortunate” and “Ridiculous”

The U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the war in Afghanistan was “unfortunate” and “ridiculous” as he met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House.

Trump said the U.S. and its NATO allies had also made “great strides in Afghanistan.”

“I think we’ve made a lot of great strides recently in Afghanistan. It is — we call it the “endless war.” Nineteen years. The real number is 19 years. It is unfortunate. It is ridiculous. It is been a very interesting period of time,” Trump said.

“But we’ve made a lot of strides. A lot of things are happening in Afghanistan that are very positive. So we’ll see how that all comes out,” He added.

Meanwhile, Stoltenberg said that NATO allies strongly believe that it is “important to support the U.S. efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis or the war in Afghanistan.”

It comes as the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul on Monday and hold consultation meetings with government officials, influential politicians and women groups.

“In Kabul, the Special Representative will consult with the Afghan government and other Afghans about the status of U.S. talks with the Taliban, encourage efforts to form an inclusive negotiating team, and discuss next steps in intra-Afghan discussions and negotiations,” the U.S. Department of State said in a statement.