Trump Said Americans Had Their 'Asses Kicked' in Afghanistan, Bolton’s Book Claims

The newly-released book by former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has already created an uproar among the US political elite, by revealing some juicy details about the internal functioning of the Trump administration. The president himself has branded his former staffer a “wacko” and slammed him for releasing “confidential information”.

Donald Trump believed that Americans were getting their “asses kicked” in Afghanistan and strongly called for the US troops' withdrawal from the country, John Bolton’s new book "The Room Where it Happened” claims.

“It’s a horror show. At some point, we’ve got to get out,” the US president reportedly said in one of the meetings in late 2018.

“Millions of people killed, trillions of dollars, and we just can’t do it. Another six months, that’s what they said before, and we’re still getting our asses kicked”, Trump is quoted as saying.

But when asked about what to do with Daesh* terrorists in the country, the president reportedly told his staffers: “let Russia take care of them”.  

In this file photo taken on May 13, 2019, National Security Advisor John Bolton listens while US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before a meeting with Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. - Trump has no guiding principles and is unfit to be president, Bolton said in an interview released on June 18, 2020, to promote his explosive book. "I don't think he's fit for office. I don't think he has the competence to carry out the job," Bolton told ABC News.

© AFP 2023 / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

According to Bolton, Trump also recognised that his initial 2017 “strategy” in relation to the country “was wrong”.

“We’ve lost everything. It was a total failure. It’s a waste. It’s a shame. All the casualties. I hate talking about it,” the president reportedly said during the same meeting.

However, the former security advisor argued that Trump still had “trouble taking responsibility” for some of his decisions, as he also lashed out at his ex-Secretary of Defence James N. Mattis for the US failures in the country.

“I gave you what you asked for. Unlimited authority, no holds barred. You’re losing. You’re getting your ass kicked. You failed,” he allegedly said.

The book claims that by late 2018, Afghanistan had turned into “a sore spot” for Donald Trump. The US president, however, so far, has slammed John Bolton for releasing “confidential information” by his book, which he said contained many lies and misinformation.

Contrary to some of his pre-election pledges and strong opposition to the US military presence in Afghanistan, in the summer 2017, the US president authorised the increase of American forces in the country from an initially-agreed 8,400 troops in Kabul, Kandahar, Bagram and Jalalabad garrisons. By September, the total number of American forces in Afghanistan reportedly reached 14,000.

In February 2020, the United States and Taliban movement signed an agreement  “bringing peace” to Afghanistan, outlining the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country within 14 months if the militias stick to the deal. It was estimated this June that the number of US troops in the country has now reached 8,600.

*Daesh (aka Islamic state/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist group banned in Russia.