Cheney Blames ‘Retirement Policy’ for Afghanistan Outcome

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Wyoming MP Liz Cheney said the fall of the US-backed Afghan government to the Taliban means groups such as Al-Quaeda and ISIS will be free to use the South Asian nation as a base. operations.

The Republican also said Monday that “it doesn’t have to be that way.” Cheney, who is a member of the US House Armed Services Committee, commented on the “CBS This Morning” program. Among other things, she expressed concerns about what the fall of Afghanistan will mean for US national security:

Well that’s, of course, just catastrophic. It didn’t have to be that way. And what worries me most from a national security perspective is the extent to which al Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorist organizations now have an entire country controlled by the Taliban. We know that 20 years ago the Taliban hosted al Qaeda as they planned the attacks on us. I am also very concerned about the prisoners who have been released across the country. You have prisoners who have been released who are not only probable – who will return to battle for the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, but who will potentially populate terrorist organizations around the world. So we’ve really entered a very dangerous new phase now in the war on terror, created an additional security situation and a danger that we just didn’t need to create – totally unnecessary. ”

Cheney also said that a deal brokered by former President Trump with the Taliban for the withdrawal of US troops essentially amounted to a surrender of the country. But she said President Biden’s handling of the situation then made matters worse:

So we delegitimized the Afghan government, cut it, negotiated with the Taliban, a terrorist organization, signed an agreement with them. We should never have done this, but President Biden should never have withdrawn his forces. I think at the end of the day when you look at how we got to this point, there’s certainly enough blame on both sides, but this decision to basically pull out really – we’re watching what it looks like unfold. when America adopts a policy of retirement, when America adopts a policy of surrender. It makes us less secure and it will lengthen the war. “

You can see the full interview here:

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