Saad Mohseni on What Went Wrong in U.S.-Afghan Negotiations

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So, let me ask you, because you have said this deal, which is now off, kind of threw you all under the bus. What do you mean by that?

SAAD MOHSENI, AFGHAN BUSINESSMAN: I think the concern is that we get pushed under the bus. You know, we agree there are conditions and they’re fairly strict conditions. There’s also a timeline. So, people looking at the U.S. elections and President Trump’s instincts and where his priorities are. At the end of the day, the time line gets priority over conditions. And the mechanisms which currently, you know, they have written out and have shared with the Afghan government. The thing that I think really concerns people, again, both in Washington and in Kabul, is the lack of transparency. Right. So, you know, you have interagency approach these things. And in this instance, it’s Secretary Pompeo, Zalmay Khalilzad and pretty much no one else. They have even refused to share the document, well, up until recently, with Bolton. I mean, that’s extraordinary.

AMANPOUR: The national security adviser.

MOHSENI: The national security adviser.

AMANPOUR: Who we know has been very against it. That’s the reporting anyway.

MOHSENI: He’s pushed back on it. But same goes for NATO, same goes for the Brits, same goes for the Germans.

AMANPOUR: So, they’re all against this pull out?

MOHSENI: No, they’re completely in the dark in terms of what’s being negotiated. And I think the concern that they have is, we need more transparency.

AMANPOUR: And of course, all their troops are on the ground. So, let me ask you because we have seen letters by former U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan, they oppose the process and the complete withdrawal of troops. We’ve seen military generals and seniors from the United States, former, also joining this campaign to be very careful of doing a deal with the Taliban. You have been talking to many of these people, including people very close to President Trump, who President Trump trusts in the American Congress and military. Why do you think this fell apart at the last moment? Give us the anatomy of what was on the table and why a Camp David meeting fell apart.

MOHSENI: I think it was just probably a combination of things. I think that there were still gaps in terms of what the Americans wanted and what the Taliban were committed to agree to. And I think that the hope was they would bridge the gap enough for the Taliban to go to Washington and then President Trump would be able to deliver what he wanted — you know, what – – has been wanting to delivered for some time, a peace deal in Afghanistan after 40 years, and I think realization that they were not going to bridge the gap in Washington. And of course, you know, 16 American troops have been killed since they started talking. So, I don’t think it’s the killing alone that prompted the president to push back. But, of course, a lot of people have also warned them that what if the Taliban don’t abide by what they agree to, what if they have a go at Kabul with two months before U.S. elections, what if these other groups reemerge, you know. And this — during an election year is going to be very, very controversial.