Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday, April 14, that Biden’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 was “the right thing to do,” but he stressed that what matters is how the Biden administration will implement the plan.
Biden said Wednesday that it is “time to end America’s longest war” and that “it’s time for American troops to come home. He said the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City “do not explain” why U.S. soldiers should stay in the Central Asian country. Biden said he made the decision after consulting with Vice President Harris, top military leaders, lawmakers and former President Bush.
Pompeo argued that the tactics, decisions, timing and execution of how the Biden administration draws down combat troops in the region starting May 1 will be key to the move. He said on Fox News’ “America Reports” that it is “entirely appropriate and the right thing to do” for the U.S. to move to “reduce our footprint in Afghanistan. approach.”
“Under us (the Trump administration), we’ve reduced (the military) from over 10,000 to about 2,500, and …… (we’ve done) everything we can to make sure we never get attacked from Afghanistan again.” Pompeo added.
“President Biden is right. President Trump was right before him,” Pompeo said, “and its leaders are primarily inside Iran, not inside Afghanistan.” But he also stressed, “But how you execute this is very important.” “We need to make sure we get our European partners on board …… And then the Taliban have an important decision to make. They have to decide whether they want to be part of a pariah state and cause a lot of trouble or whether they want to be part of the solution in Afghanistan.”
Pompeo added, “In the long run, the likelihood is high that they will make that choice (the latter). It’s the right choice for them, but if they choose the former, the U.S. is still providing billions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan (that would be inappropriate). We should let that aid, depending on whether all Afghan leaders make the right decision.”
Pompeo was part of the team that negotiated the U.S. military exit strategy with the Taliban under former President Donald Trump (R-Texas). Last year, Trump outlined a deal with the Taliban that said he would withdraw troops from Afghanistan by May 1 in exchange for a commitment from the Taliban to reduce violence, counterterrorism pledges and a promise to start intra-Afghan peace talks.
However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and some top Republicans said Biden’s withdrawal plan was a “grave mistake.
At a news conference Wednesday, Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Biden’s decision to withdraw all troops by Sept. 11 was “the highest risk option available” and would “leave us in a world of hurt. “
“We get the idea that the war is now over, that Biden has ended the longest war in American history,” Graham said, “but with all due respect, President Biden, you didn’t end the war, you prolonged it.”
Graham argued that the full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011 under former President Barack Obama led to the rise of the terrorist group Islamic State (ISIS).
“The likelihood of that happening again is rising in the wake of President Biden’s decision today,” Graham added, adding that “he has put Afghanistan on a fairly rapidly deteriorating path and allowed the enemy – radical Islam to regroup. All of this can now be avoided with minimal commitment compared to the past.”
Biden said the U.S. will continue to provide security assistance to Afghan forces, adding that if the Taliban attack, U.S. forces will use “all available tools” to defend themselves. Biden did not specify whether special operations forces would remain in Afghanistan. As of this year, 1,000 special operations forces remain in the region, according to reports.
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