During a debate with Kamala Harris, Donald Trump stated that the Doha Agreement was terminated during his presidency because the Taliban did not adhere to its terms.
Trump said, "We terminated the agreement because they didn’t do what they were supposed to." He also criticised the Biden administration, claiming, "These people executed the worst and, in my opinion, the most shameful withdrawal in the history of our country."
Defending his stance, Trump explained, "We had an agreement, but we didn’t lose soldiers, we didn’t leave many Americans behind, and we didn’t leave $85 billion worth of equipment."
The debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the leading candidates in the US presidential election, took place on Tuesday, September 10, at 9:00 PM Washington time. In addition to domestic issues, the debate also covered topics such as the Ukraine-Russia war, Israel and Hamas, and Afghanistan.
Trump stated that following the agreement with the Taliban, no US soldiers were killed over a span of 18 months. He added, "I told Abdul Ghani Baradar to stop killing our soldiers, or it would cause trouble for you, and after that, for 18 months, no soldiers were killed."
The Doha Agreement was signed in 2020 during Trump’s presidency. Trump criticised the Biden administration for not adhering to the terms of the agreement, saying, "It was a conditional, phased agreement, but it wasn’t upheld."
Kamala Harris strongly criticised Trump’s handling of Afghanistan. She accused Trump of bypassing the Afghan government and "negotiating directly with a terrorist organisation called the Taliban”.
In response, Trump defended his actions, stating, "I negotiated with the Taliban because they were killing Americans."
Harris avoided directly addressing the question of whether she was responsible for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, instead stating, "I agreed with Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan." She continued, saying that four presidents had promised to do it, and Biden finally made it happen. As a result, "American taxpayers are no longer paying $300 million a day for that endless war."
Harris described the US-Taliban agreement made during Trump’s presidency as one of the weakest agreements ever. She added, "Trump calls himself a dealmaker, but even his own advisors said this was a weak and terrible deal."
She further criticised Trump for negotiating with the Taliban and inviting them to Camp David, a place symbolic of American democratic values.
The Doha Agreement was signed in 2020 between the US and the Taliban in Qatar, where both sides agreed on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
Michael McCaul, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, and other critics argue that the US left Afghanistan unconditionally, without a settlement between the Taliban and the Ashraf Ghani government, paving the way for the collapse of the Afghan government.
On Sunday, September 8, in an interview with CBS, McCaul called the Doha Agreement a mistake by Zalmay Khalilzad and said it had a negative impact on the morale of the previous Afghan government.
In response, Zalmay Khalilzad called McCaul’s statements a "false accusation" and said that the Doha Agreement provided the basis for "historic negotiations" between the Ashraf Ghani government and the Taliban.