Bolton excluded from Afghanistan policy amid disagreement with Trump

US National Security Adviser John Bolton has been sidelined from sensitive discussions about an emerging peace deal aimed at ending America’s 18-year war in Afghanistan, according to US officials.

Bolton, who has long advocated an expansive military presence around the world, has become a staunch internal foe of ending America’s longest war, the Washington Post reported, citing a half-dozen US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The officials said that Bolton’s opposition to the diplomatic effort in Afghanistan has irritated President Donald Trump and led White House aides to leave the hawkish national security adviser out of a high-stakes meeting about the war in Afghanistan earlier this month.

The sidelining of Bolton has cast doubt about his influence in the Trump administration’s policy towards nations like North Korea and Iran. Bolton, US officials said, stands in opposition to reducing tensions with Tehran and Pyongyang, but he does so increasingly from the periphery.

“I can’t think of another example where a national security adviser was sidelined like this,” said Tom Wright, an international security expert at the Brookings Institution. “One thing that makes this different from normal bureaucratic infighting is that Bolton has pitted himself against a policy the president clearly supports.”

Bolton’s isolation on Afghanistan became particularly apparent this month when Trump’s top national security officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, met on Trump’s golf resort in New Jersey to discuss the peace deal in Afghanistan.

Bolton was not originally invited out of concern that his team would oppose the agenda and leak the details later, several officials said. “His team has a reputation for losing and leaking,” said one senior administration official with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Bolton rejected the allegation, saying in a statement, “I categorically deny leaks by me or anyone authorized to speak to the press. Those alleging such leaks should look in the mirror.”

Eventually, Bolton secured a spot at the meeting after one of his aides appealed to White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, according to a US official. During the meeting, Bolton and the president exchanged opposing views over policy options on Afghanistan, US officials said.

PressTV-Trump: Some troops to stay even after Taliban deal

President Trump says the US will keep 8,600 troops in Afghanistan even if it strikes a peace deal with the Taliban.

in a Fox News interview on Thursday, Trump said he plans to reduce the number of American troops in Afghanistan from 14,000 to 8,600 and then will determine further drawdowns.

Trump has repeatedly advocated for bringing US troops back from Afghanistan, putting him at odds with hawkish officials like Bolton.

US officials have held several rounds of direct negotiations with the Taliban to pull out American forces in exchange for concessions. The militant group says it does not recognize the government in Kabul.

The US invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the ruling Taliban regime. US troops were first sent to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

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