(PatrioticPost.com)- President Joe Biden has at least one person in Congress who is against his plan to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan.
This week, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham spoke out against Biden’s plan to remove all U.S. troops from the country, saying the decision “cancelled an insurance policy against another 9/11.”
The Washington Post recently reported that the Biden administration planned to announce that all U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan on what will be the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Biden officials then confirmed the plan, which actually pushes back what was a previous deadline of May 1.
Soon after the officials confirmed that report, Graham put out a statement that shared his thoughts on the decision. The statement read:
“A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous. President Biden will have, in essence, canceled an insurance policy against another 9/11.”
Graham also added that “wars end when the threat is eliminated,” and not when an anniversary occurs. He continued:
“A residual counterterrorism force would be an insurance policy against the rise of radical Islam in Afghanistan that could pave the way for another attack against our homeland or our allies.”
Other members of Congress and political experts have said that a full withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan at this point would not be a good idea. They warn that a full peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government is necessary before withdrawing all troops, otherwise a full-blown civil war could break out at any time.
About a year ago, the United States helped broker a deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban. The cease-fire agreement also saw the U.S. agree to withdraw troops from the region.
Former President Donald Trump helped to broker that deal, and he ultimately started drawing down some American troops from the region.
As of now, though, the Taliban hasn’t lived up to its end of the bargain. U.S. military officials say the Taliban hasn’t fully adhered to what it said it would do when the agreement was struck.
Apparently, one of the sticking points is the type of government that the country should have in the future. The current Afghan government obviously wants to stay in power, and they want to ensure there will be fair and democratic elections in the future.
The Taliban, meanwhile, seemingly won’t accept any arrangement that doesn’t include them taking back over the government, and re-instating Muslim rule of the country.
The ongoing disagreement between the two sides has many military officials, and some members of Congress, worried about a withdraw of troops. They say it’s not safe to do so yet, simply because the region isn’t fully stable.
As of now, there are roughly 2,500 U.S. troops still stationed in Afghanistan. That’s the number that’s left after Trump’s drawn down last year.
A full withdrawal, though, is what is of concern to Graham. He said said it’s “ironic that, given the sacrifices we’ve made to move Afghanistan forward, prevent another 9/11, and ensure the enduring defeat of Al Qaida and ISIS, that on the 20th anniversary of the attack, we’re paving the way for another attack.”
