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Trump says US had "very good discussions" with Afghan govt., Taliban

WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (KUNA) -- US President Donald Trump affirmed Sunday that the US has had "very good discussions" with the Afghan government and the Taliban, saying "well see what happens." Speaking to reporters as he was leaving New Jersey back to Washington DC, Trump said "we're looking at Afghanistan. We're talking to Afghanistan, both the government and also talking to the Taliban, having very good discussions. We'll see what happens." "We've really got it down to probably 13,000 people and we'll be bringing it down a little bit more and we'll decide whether or not we'll be staying longer or not," on US presence there.
Asked what votes against staying, he responded "just that we've been there for 19 years. We're like a police force." "Look we're there for one reason, we don't want that to be a laboratory ... It can't be a laboratory for terror. And we've stopped that we have a very, very good view," he remarked.
"I'm not trusting anybody," he stressed when asked about trusting Taliban to "police" it. "It's a horrible situation that's been going on in Afghanistan. It has been for many years." On Friday, Trump held Friday a meeting at Bedminster, New Jersey, with members of his national security team to discuss "the status" of negotiations for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. The Washington Post had reported that Trump would be meeting with senior advisers "to begin planning step-by-step withdrawal from Afghanistan." (end) si