H.R. McMaster: Trump freeing Taliban fighters may lead to another 9/11 (FULL) | USA TODAY

Former national security adviser H.R. McMaster believes it's a mistake to think the Taliban could be a partner for peace, and could mean another 9/11.
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In an in-depth conversation with USA TODAY's Deirdre Shesgreen, Gen. H.R. McMaster, the former national security advisor to President Donald Trump and decorated veteran, was cautious to criticize President Trump on many mainstream political and policy decisions with one notable exception – Trump's deal with Taliban and Afghan leaders that freed thousands of Taliban fighters. McMaster thinks that those fighters will lead to a resurgence of terrorist activity, similar to how the 2011 release of al-Qaida fighters led to the rise of the Islamic State.

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48 comments

  1. US is not good at having a long-term strategy when entering conflicts. Our policies change with every regime.

    Afghanistan already went through this with Charlie Wilson’s war…We used the Taliban to beat the Soviet’s and as soon as that ended walked away…provided a well trained Taliban

  2. Everybody’s got a book to sell right it’s funny that all this information comes out 50 days before the election just saying

  3. So… We couldn’t solve the problem in 19 years and we STILL NEED TO BE THERE???
    Be honest! WHAT’S THE CONDITION TO COME BACK???

    1. @TrueNerd I hear you but the goal is to mitigate the loss of life and the longer we stay the more likely the civilian population is safe (or so they say) i know we have killed more civilians than insurgents in the last 6 years but apparently they are working on it lol. Idk what the right choice is but more terrorists isn’t a good thing, I want them to come home but i don’t want more terrorism either… It’s kind of a catch 22 because the longer we stay the more terrorists there will be but if we leave the more terrorists there will be.

    2. @Dutch Van Der Linde YOU WILL NOT STOP TERRORISM NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO AND FOR HOW LONG. THE ANSWER LIES IN EDUCATE AND COMMUNICATE…………AND THAT WON”T HAPPEN ANYTIME SOON………….YOU ARE BOTH RIGHT THOUGH…………..

    3. @Dutch Van Der Linde Point well taken, and might I note everything said here has been great stuff, and with all of it taken into consideration I’m not sure if any move may be the right move but If I’m running for President I gotta think I’m going to pull out and take my chances, after all its not our war and we are not paid bodyguards over there for anyone, so we remove ourselves out of the warzone, then see what the outcome is, if two countries over there fight, then let them fight. It’s just like street fighting – whether I’m paying a bodyguard to protect me from an enemy or One is teaching me how to fight then the first day I don’t pay up or the day I have learned all I can learn is the day I gotta get down un the trenches and fight – the bodyguard or the teacher is going to eventually walk away one day and it’s not his fight any longer once that happens it’s on me – same concept of how I see things over there – and if it should come down to it we now have our own set of “eyes in the sky” now with our newest branch of military that would hopefully give us a heads up should any one or anything from the Middle East come our way ! I mean a POTUS is gonna have to make a choice at some point, so if I were running for office that’s what I’d do is bring our troops home and
      See what takes place – and it may not be right but I think it’s a whole lot more respectful if we ar least we can say we finally grew some big enough nuts to exit a war that’s not our war and we walked away. Just my viewpoint

    1. @Dutch Van Der Linde “the hill” is a “targeted audience publication” distributed locally. saying it is “Better” does not make it news. Just because the lies they tell forward your agenda does not make it “Better” just different. The purpose remains the same. Not to inform but to condition. Say something loud enough and long enough and people believe it. Please continue to peruse as many “news” outlets as possible and make up your own mind. continue to be outspoken. the more the better

    2. @paul harris please share the lies they tell. like i said in my experience they are unbiased they give news for both sides of the isle

    3. @paul harris that’s ur opinion but dont lump Bloomberg into the same as fox. Wether you like it r not go to neilson rting and see who leads almost all the top spots. Guess which outlet it is lol

    1. Trump directly appointed this man to his cabinet. It’s not “Dems” or even “Repubs”, literally just Trump.

    2. When you mention the term ‘fear mongering’ you only need to look at Trump’s podium but try adding the adjectives ‘outright,lying,criminal,thieving,dishonest, mysogenystic, racist and fascist’

    1. Idk he has some good points, i don’t agree with everything but you cant deny that the first time we tried to pull out resulted in the rise of ISIS.

  4. He’s talking as if the US doesn’t have relationships with nations like Suadi Arabia, China, Russia, or Isreal. All nations guilty of an array of human rights violations and China is presently in the middle of a nifty genocide right now.

    If it weren’t for the natural resources in the area we wouldn’t be talking about Afghanistan.

    Bring our troops home, no more blood and treasure sacrificed to the altar of perpetual war.

    1. The problems with this being 1. Regional hegemony given over to Putin, and 2. dRumpfkopf is, as Tex Tillerson said, “A f**”ing moron.”

    1. @Robert Bradly maybe… maybe not.
      I’ll do my part to see that trump and his agenda never sees the light of day again.

      He in no way speaks for me, my loved ones, or those I work next to in the shop…

      His idea of American values are the antithesis of what I was raised to believe our values are. I’ve never seen so many people so eager to denigrate their neighbors. The Republican party is a shell of its former self. When they come to their senses I’ll consider voting for them again.

  5. I was going to criticize this most oportunistic moment for someone who had produced yet another book however, McMaster does speak intelligently and with great detail about the topic. He presents a very good case of a very likely concern and future problem that we will more than likely have to deal with.

  6. I’m sure that if Obama was letting out prisoners from Guantanamo Bay he would get an hour long critic by USA Today. Oh wait I guess not

  7. Romans 3:23
    For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
    Hebrews 9:27
    And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
    Isaiah 64:6
    But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
    Revelation 21:8
    But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
    Romans 5:8
    But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
    John 3:16
    For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
    John 14:6
    Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
    Romans 10:9-10.
    That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
    For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
    John 5:24
    Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
    1John 5: 10-13
    He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
    And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
    He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
    These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
    Ephesians 2:8-9
    For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
    Not of works, lest any man should boast.
    Romans 8:1
    There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
    1 Corinthians 15:3-4
    For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
    And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
    2 Corinthians 5:21
    For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
    …………………………………………

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