Bolton’s pushback and Pentagon concerns over a potential deal with the Afghan insurgents helped convince the U.S. president to cancel the contentious summit.
By Lara Seligman, Elias Groll and Robbie Gramer @ ForeignPolicy.com, Sept. 9
[....] Trump’s impromptu plan to invite leaders of the Afghan insurgent group to the presidential retreat at the same time as the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks set off heated deliberations last week between the members of his national security team, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo supporting the move and National Security Advisor John Bolton arguing against it.
The internal discussions leading up to the president’s last-minute decision to scrap the meeting this weekend shed light on the evolving dynamic among the members of Trump’s national security team since Defense Secretary Mark Esper was confirmed to the top Pentagon job in July. They also reflect significant hurdles ahead for Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghan reconciliation, even as an impatient president looks to make good on his campaign promise to bring troops home from America’s forever wars before the 2020 presidential election.
In discussions last week, Trump’s national security apparatus was divided [....]