It's not clear why Trump announced his secret, failed, ill-timed Camp David Taliban summit

Trump, Mike Pompeo, John Bolton
(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

The secret plan for President Trump to invite Taliban leaders to Washington to sign a peace accord took shape during a meeting in the Situation Room on Aug. 30, The New York Times reports. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Afghanistan negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, backed the underlying peace plan Khalilzad had tentatively cemented with the Taliban after nearly a year of talks; National Security Adviser John Bolton was opposed. Almost nobody else knew about Trump's plan to host the Taliban until he tweeted the summit had been canceled Saturday evening.

In the first few days of September, Trump decided "he would not only bring the Taliban to Washington, but to Camp David, the crown jewel of the American presidency," the Times reports. "The leaders of a rugged militant organization deemed terrorists by the United States would be hosted in the mountain getaway used for presidents, prime ministers, and kings just three days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." Trump also decided to invite Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, whose government was not party to the talks. "The usual National Security Council process was dispensed with; only a small circle of advisers was even clued in," the Times adds.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.