When he was commander-in-chief, Trump signed "killed in action" letters that could attach his name to the Afghan war.
The nearly 20-year war was detailed in a report by the NYT.
It was difficult for Trump to sign letters to the families of service members who died in conflicts.
In the years before Donald Trump became president, he had voiced his opposition to the US presence in Afghanistan, railing against a war that began after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In August 2012 Trump said that it was time for American troops to leave Afghanistan.
During a March 2016 GOP presidential debate, Trump said that he meant Iraq. I think you have to stay in Afghanistan for a while because you're close to Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons, and we have to protect that.
Just a few months into his first term in the White House, President Trump was seemingly uncomfortable with the war in Afghanistan, and he resented having to sign 'killed in action' letters which, in his mind, linked him to a conflict that he did not personally like.
The author of the book said that Trump wanted to end the conflict in Afghanistan but faced resistance.
He had his National Security Council draw up a menu of options, from the equivalent of destruction to total appeasement, and a number of possibilities in between. She wrote that one high-level option involved personal contact with the leader of the country.
Trump cared about fulfilling a campaign promise, but aides were struck that he seemed rattled by the number of deaths involved; over time, he came to resent every 'Killed in Action' letter he was forced to sign after a service member died.
According to the Costs of War project, the war in Afghanistan claimed 2,324 American troops, as well as 3,917 contractors, and was fought at the direction of four US commander-in-chiefs, their defense secretaries and the officers who reported to them.
The power to end US involvement in the war was wielded by all of the presidents.
It is only Trump who sought to distance himself from this responsibility to comfort the troop's family, an emotional rending task that many presidents have done.
There were difficulties in signing letters to the families of service members killed in conflicts.
I have to sign those letters. He said that it was the hardest thing he had to do.
Each letter is unique. Each letter has its own characteristics. I signed them for Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria in the past two weeks. Sometimes, I talk to the parents. It's so devastating for the parents that I don't go to Delaware when I can.
Trump was involved in a lot of controversy centering on the families of dead troops. The widow said the president forgot her husband's name. According to reports, Trump questioned the point of a Marine's sacrifice to his father. He said he contracted the disease from a group of families.
The framework for a US withdrawal in Afghanistan was set by the Trump administration in a peace deal with the Taliban.
Despite the unpopularity of the war, President Joe Biden went ahead with the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Respondents blamed Bush for the longest engagement of any US leader.
Despite his administration's attempt to negotiate the abrupt withdrawal that Biden delayed and a lack of planning to evacuate Americans and Afghans who had worked with them, Trump harshly rebuked Biden over the withdrawal.
If the two men face off against each other, the issue will be brought up.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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