President Donald Trump on Tuesday told Americans that his administration is working to end the Afghan war – the longest conflict in American history and bring troops back home.
He also reported progress in the ongoing peace talks aimed at concluding the conflict in the landlocked country.
“I am not looking to kill hundreds of thousands of people in Afghanistan, many of them innocent. It is also not our function to serve other nations as a law enforcement agency,” Trump said in State of the Union address to the joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“We are working to finally end America’s longest war and bring our troops back home,” he added.
Standing by on a hill top, Soldiers with the 101st Division Special Troops Battalion, 101st Airborne Division watch as two Chinook helicopters fly in to take them back to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan Nov. 4, 2008. The Soldiers searched a small village in the valley below for IED making materials and facilities. (Photo by Spc. Mary L. Gonzalez, CJTF-101 Public Affairs)
Trump addressed the state of the union address in the midst of impeachment proceedings in the Senate, and he criticized Democrats on issues of immigration and sanctuary cities.
The address was marked by visible tensions between President Trump and House Speaker Nancy Peolosi, with the Trump ignoring a handshake with Pelosi at the start of his address and Pelosi tearing apart Trump’s address at the end.
BREAKING: Speaker Pelosi tears up President Trump's speech as the president ends his State of the Union address. #SOTU pic.twitter.com/WK18FqjC0u
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 5, 2020
In his address, Trump highlighted a series of steps his administration has taken to realize growth at home and peace efforts abroad including presentation of a new Middle peace plan for resolution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Trump also told the gathering of lawmakers and invited guests that the U.S. has eliminated leader of ISIS and now that terror group that once controlled vast swathes of territories in Iraq and Syria has been beaten back. The U.S., he said, is combating radical Islamic terrorism.
