Sen Cotton calls on Biden to reverse ‘disastrous’ Afghanistan withdrawal

By Christine Favocci

It’s already abundantly clear that President Joe Biden’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan was a monumental mistake. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) thinks it’s time to cut America’s losses.

Cotton called on Biden to “reverse course” on the “disastrous” plan that has stranded thousands and led to a terror attack that killed 13 American service members, Breitbart reported. The lawmaker was speaking on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Friday ahead of the Aug. 31 pullout date.

“I’ve been warning for two weeks now that we can’t trust the Taliban to conduct security at the airport or to help secure our citizens in Kabul, and we saw the consequences of that yesterday,” Cotton told the hosts. Two explosions outside of the Kabul airport killed the service members and injured several more as people flooded the area for the rushed evacuations, The Hill reported.

As the U.S. attempted to evacuate service personnel, civilians, and Afghan allies from the nation ahead of the scheduled Aug. 31 withdrawal, the Taliban has taken over parts of the country. These evacuees are now at the mercy of the Taliban to get through to safety.

“Again, remember, we apparently gave the names of American citizens and Afghans and partner citizens as well to the Taliban to help them get through screening checkpoints,” Cotton continued. “Just think about how insane that is. That’s like giving the Taliban a hit list for our people and our partners,” he said.

“It’s all about Joe Biden’s desire to get as many troops out of Afghanistan possible without regard for the security consequences or the safety of our citizens on the ground or our partners, or those Afghans who served alongside us and who have been approved and vetted to come into this country,” Cotton charged. “What Joe Biden needs to do now is reverse course,” he said.

“He needs to stay at that airport as long as necessary, reopen Bagram, if necessary, to make sure we get every last American citizen out of Afghanistan and that we bring to justice those who killed 13 brave American troopers,” Cotton recommended. Despite the obvious evidence to the contrary, the Biden administration has repeatedly insisted that no Americans are stranded in Afghanistan.

Cotton is correct that this situation needs to be rectified. However, the Taliban has prohibited the U.S. from extending the withdrawal date past Aug. 31. Biden has created this situation and emboldened America’s enemies and it may be too late to do anything more about it.

SOURCE: https://americandigest.com/sen-cotton-calls-on-biden-to-reverse-disastrous-afghanistan-withdrawal/