H.R. McMaster Speaks Out, Says Trump’s ‘Unwise’ Deal With Taliban, Afghanistan Pullout Makes U.S. Less Safe

Trump’s first national security advisor, H.R. McMaster, is speaking out about the pullout deal the White House has negotiated with the Taliban, warning it as an “unwise” move that endangers the fragile Afghanistan government and makes the United States less safe from terrorism.

According to a Axios report about McMaster’s upcoming interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes this coming Sunday, the former NSA and three-star general said the White House is in danger of forfeiting any gains made by the country’s young government. In February, the Trump administration signed a nascent peace deal with the Taliban, but the Afghan government was not party to the negotiations and has continued to struggle against the insurgency.

“I think what [President Trump] did with this new policy, is he, in effect, is partnering with the Taliban against, in many ways, the Afghan government,” McMaster reportedly said to CBS News.

“And so, I think that it’s an unwise policy,” McMaster added. “I think what we require in Afghanistan is a sustained commitment to help the Afghan government and help the Afghan security forces to bear the brunt of this fight.”

McMaster also has written a book, entitled Battlegrounds. In it, he will reportedly argue that Afghanistan remains a source of transnational  terrorism and that terror groups are more capable of striking the U.S. than they were before Sept. 11, 2001.