Afghanistan is a "hornet's nest" for terrorist groups, President Donald Trump said today even as his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani declared that "victory is within sight" in his war-torn country as a result of the US' new South Asia strategy.
"People don't realise you had 20 terrorist groups in Afghanistan. This is where the World Trade Centre people - I'll call them people - were trained. This is what happened, you had 20 groups, more than any place else. It's really a hornet's nest from that standpoint," Trump told Ghani at a bilateral meeting here on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly session.
"We are hitting them very very hard and very effectively. We really have no choice but to do it," Trump said in his first meeting with the Afghan leader, after he announced his new Afghanistan and South Asia strategy last month.
"We are working very hard. Our military is as you know over there right now and doing really an incredible job more of leadership than fighting. We are leading a lot of wonderful Afghan troops who are fighting very hard. We were just discussing that. And great progress is being made," Trump said.
In his remarks, Ghani said as a result of Trump's new Afghan policy there is no longer a cloud of uncertainty.
"A cloud of uncertainty has been lifted, but equally important is your commitment to a political solution at the end of this process," he told Trump.
"We are committed to make sure it's the Afghan people, Afghan soldiers, and Afghan officers who will take the burden of responsibility," he said.
"Victory - political, and military-wise - is within our sight. We do not ask for a blank cheque. We are determined to do what is ours - fight corruption, ensure that there is no waste of resources, full accountability for the results," said Ghani who was welcomed by Trump for the meeting.
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