Pope Francis takes a jab at America's policy in Afghanistan

Rome — In a wide-ranging radio interview that aired on Wednesday, Pope Francis called the withdrawal of the U.S. military and its allies from Afghanistan "legitimate," but criticized the way it was carried out. 

"As far as I can see, not all eventualities were taken into account here," he told Spanish Catholic radio station COPE. "I don't know whether there will be a review or not, but certainly there was a lot of deception, perhaps, on the part of the new authorities [of Afghanistan]. I say deceit, or a lot of naiveté — I don't understand." The pope framed the 20-year U.S.-led war in Afghanistan as an example of an outsider's attempt to impose democracy. In doing so, he said he was quoting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he called "one of the great figures of world democracy." However, he was inadvertently paraphrasing remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.