04.20.21

Misguided Afghanistan Plan Creates More Questions than Answers

‘This afternoon, President Biden is sending his top national security officials to brief members on his misguided plan to abandon the battlefield in Afghanistan… If the White House is serious about making America, our allies, and our interests more secure, it’ll need to start tacking towards a more enduring approach, centered on strength, and grounded in reality, not wishful thinking.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Afghanistan:

“This afternoon, President Biden is sending his top national security officials to brief members on his misguided plan to abandon the battlefield in Afghanistan.

“As I said when this decision was announced, the enemies that threaten America, our allies, and the people of Afghanistan, alike, are not vanquished.

“Taliban retribution and repression and the terror of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Haqqani Network will likely only grow after we’ve left.

“I know many colleagues on both sides of the aisle share my concerns. I expect that the Administration’s representatives will face tough questions about the rationale behind their plan for a rushed withdrawal.

“Does the Taliban share the Administration’s commitment to a negotiated solution? To not harming Afghan women and girls, or seeking vengeance on those who’ve worked with the U.S. to root out terror?

“Somehow I doubt it.

“Does the Administration have a plan for keeping terrorists off-balance in the absence of troops and leverage in the region? Will it seek to maintain the 2001 AUMF which authorizes the ongoing counterterrorism operations that have kept our homeland safe for 20 years?

“How does the Administration plan to maintain our insight into terrorist activities or our ability to strike them without a presence on the ground? To sustain our partners who are doing the fighting?

“I have worked hard to find common ground with this Administration on foreign policy.

“But if the White House is serious about making America, our allies, and our interests more secure, it’ll need to start tacking towards a more enduring approach, centered on strength, and grounded in reality, not wishful thinking.”

Related Issues: Afghanistan