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- Trump had praise for the Taliban during an appearance on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show.
- Trump called the Taliban “smart” and “good fighters” during a segment on August 17.
- He claimed erroneously that the group had been around for 1,000 years when it was only founded in 1994.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
Former President Donald Trump praised the Taliban this Tuesday, calling them “smart” and “good fighters.”
“The Taliban, good fighters I will tell, you, good fighters. You have to give them credit for that. They’ve been fighting for a thousand years; what they do is they fight,” Trump said on Fox New’s “The Sean Hannity Show” on August 17.
“The Taliban has circled the airport, and who knows if they’re going to treat us right? All of a sudden, they’ll say – well, frankly, if they were smart, they’d really – and they are smart, they are smart. They should let the Americans out,” Trump said to Hannity.
Trump’s claim, however, that the Taliban has been around for 1,000 years is erroneous. The organization was founded in September 1994 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Composed of fighters called the Mujahideen, they took control of the capital of Kabul in 1996, but lost power in 2001 after American forces invaded.
Trump’s praise of the Taliban is alarming, considering that the group is known for its brutal, violent tactics. Just this year, the militant group beheaded an Afghan interpreter for the US Army. The Taliban has also been accused of multiple bombings and assassinations.
Afghan women are also fearful that they may be barred from working, stoned for breaking the rules, or even killed if the Taliban imposes its strict form of Sharia law.
‘I never had a lot of confidence, frankly, in Ghani. I said that openly and plainly I thought he was a total crook’
During the show, Trump also had strong words for Afghanistan’s former president Ashraf Ghani – who fled Afghanistan this weekend – calling him a “total crook” who “got away with murder.”
“I wanted (the Taliban) to get a deal done with the Afghan government,” Trump said. “Now, I never had a lot of confidence, frankly, in Ghani. I said that openly and plainly I thought he was a total crook.”
The former president added that Ghani also “spent all his time wining and dining our senators” but did not name particular politicians during the interview.
“The senators were in his pocket. That was one of the problems that we had. But I never liked him, and I guess based on his escape with cash, I don’t know, maybe that’s a true story. I would suspect it is. All you have to do is look at his lifestyle, study his houses, where he lives. He got away with murder in many, many different ways,” Trump said.
The former president has weighed in on Afghanistan several times this week.
On August 15, Trump criticized Biden for not “following the plan (the Trump) Administration left for him.”
On August 16, he claimed the situation in Afghanistan would have been “totally different” with him at the helm.
The Taliban is now poised to formally retake power in the country and plans to rename it the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
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