Trump Must Support Tillerson’s Push for Diplomacy
Washington, D.C. — October 23, 2017 — In response to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Afghanistan and his call for a peace process that includes moderate members of the Taliban, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, who’s traveled to Afghanistan, released the following statement:
“In an administration with a well-established bias towards military escalation, it’s refreshing to hear someone call for dialogue and diplomacy. Trump’s plan for Afghanistan, to ‘fight to win,’ is no plan at all, and neither is sending 4,000 more soldiers to fight in America’s longest war. Perhaps realizing this, Secretary Tillerson rightly called for a multilateral peace process in Afghanistan that would include more moderate members of the Taliban, a necessary step to achieving any lasting peace.
“This type of commitment to diplomacy is also exactly what we need to defuse tensions with North Korea and Iran. Hopefully this time Trump will support his Secretary of State’s call for diplomacy rather than telling him not to waste his time with talk. We simply cannot afford to continue paying the tremendous cost in lives and dollars that comes with waging endless war in Afghanistan.”