Trump's invitation to the Taliban was disgraceful. So was Republican silence about it.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

You really do have to ask: “What would Republicans have done if President Barack Obama had invited the Taliban to Camp David days before the 18th anniversary of 9/11?” They would have denounced him, called him a traitor and declared that he had disgraced the war dead and nearly 3,000 Americans who died on 9/11. They’d have suggested he was mentally unfit for office. But, of course, Obama would never have done something so stomach-turning, not to mention so counterproductive, as to elevate the Taliban to the same level as the president of the United States.

Nevertheless, when President Trump revealed he did precisely that, we heard no words of condemnation from Republican hawks such as Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) or Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who out of sheer cowardice refuse to denounce the move or to insist the invitation never be extended again. Only fear of the Trump base and blinding political ambition for a future run for higher office can explain the gobsmacking political spinelessness of Trump’s Republican enablers.

...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/09/trumps-not-only-one-deserving-rebuke-this-one/?arc404=true

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. My guess is that Fat Nixon is delusional enough to think

he could make a "deal" with the Taliban (in the absence of the government of Afghanistan but with the help of Putin) according to which they'd stop doing terrorist shit so all the U.S. troops could be withdrawn, and he'd announce this spectacular deal, which would be even better than Carter's Israel-Egypt Camp David accord, on 9/11, and the Nobel Committee would express-ship the Peace Prize to him immediately. He used the excuse that the Taliban had killed a U.S. soldier to cancel the meeting, but they'd never agreed to a cease-fire in the first place so that's a lame, bogus excuse, plus it happened three days before he canceled.

What most likely happened is that somebody convinced him that the Taliban weren't about to agree to what US negotiators had proposed so he'd end up with more than the usual amount of egg on his face if there was no deal at the meeting. Why did he announce that the secret meeting was called off, which nobody would have known about otherwise because it was secret? Because he saw he wouldn't get his deal and so was using his usual real estate negotiating tactic of walking away from a deal, which doesn't work outside the world of real estate and used cars. And now he's worse off than ever - kind of like his no-deals with North Korea.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. This

We are negotiating directly with the Taliban because they consider the Ghani government a "stooge government". This has the Paris Peace Accords written all over them. The plan they were working on calls for the withdrawal of all U S forces within fourteen months. Like the Paris Peace Accords it's merely a fig leaf for a U S retreat. Given the fact the Taliban considers the American backed Ghani government a stooge government how long do you think it will last after we leave?

WW ll was probably our last clean victory. We are great at great at winning battles, not so great at winning the peace. That's because we can go home. Our opponents can't.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212449497