President Joe Biden’s administration announced a plan to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 of this year—something Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) immediately ripped as “a grave mistake” and “an abdication of American leadership.”
Senior officials within the Biden administration told the media on Tuesday about a plan to keep troops in Afghanistan “past the May 1 deadline that was part of a peace agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban,” as the Washington Examiner reported.
“The new deadline, Sept. 11, is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks,” that outlet also noted.
Some 2,500 U.S. troops and 1,000 special forces remain in that country as of now.
But on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, McConnell said, “Leaders in both parties, including me, offered criticism when the prior administration floated the concept of a reckless withdrawal from Syria and Afghanistan … Those same voices should be equally concerned about the Biden administration announcement today.”
Foreign terrorists will not leave the U.S. alone simply because our politicians have grown tired of taking the fight to them. The President needs to explain to the American people how abandoning our partners and retreating in the face of the Taliban will make America safer.
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) April 13, 2021
INBOX | @LeaderMcConnell made these remarks today on the Senate floor after @POTUS said he will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11. #WKYT pic.twitter.com/fInqMy11p9
— Chad Hedrick (@ChadHedrickWKYT) April 13, 2021
McConnell added that any withdrawal of U.S. troops would “also specifically abandon the women of Afghanistan whose freedoms and human rights will be in peril.”
Separately, Biden has received a formal invite from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to address a Joint Session of Congress in Washington, D.C., on April 28.
Related: The Latest on Biden’s Border Crisis
That speech to Congress will occur just prior to Biden’s 100th day in office.
See these related tweets for more information and reaction on the U.S. troops issue.
The roughly 2,500 U.S. troops still there will begin pulling out this month and could be gone before the new deadline. https://t.co/j9ZjWtuE21
— Roll Call (@rollcall) April 14, 2021
Every Biden foreign policy decision is now condition-independent — he's willing to concede to Iran and China regardless of what they do, too. Regardless of what you think of his Afghanistan policy (and I don't like it), making foreign policy independent of conditions is nuts. https://t.co/F61BkRrGKE
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 14, 2021
Per pool: POTUS will say in his speech today that "I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth."
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) April 14, 2021
President Joe Biden is withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan. What happens now?https://t.co/PFmNWfQxuJ
— TIME (@TIME) April 14, 2021
Biden is making a major mistake on Afghanistan | @CNNOpinion https://t.co/W4N28ogX7Y pic.twitter.com/zkDMkk7SxK
— CNN (@CNN) April 14, 2021
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—By CNJ Staff