McConnell blames Biden for chaos in Afghanistan, defends occupation – 89.3 WFPL News Louisville

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Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell calls the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan an absolute disaster.

At a press conference in Louisville on Monday, McConnell blamed Democratic President Joe Biden for the recent chaos as the Taliban take control of the country and US officials attempt to evacuate the Americans and their Afghan allies.

McConnell has defended Afghanistan’s 20-year occupation, saying it was essential to prevent the country from becoming a haven for terrorists.

Not because there was a realistic hope that a Western-style Democratic government would emerge in Afghanistan, but because we went there because it was in our own national interest, McConnell said.

McConnell said he received information on the situation in Afghanistan prior to the withdrawal and claimed Biden had quashed military leaders on the matter.

I made the same argument to President Trump. Just because President Trump announced he would be leaving in May doesn’t mean President Biden had to, McConnell said.

Politicians have started to point fingers at who should be blamed for the ongoing unrest in the country.

Biden criticized former President Donald Trump for negotiating a deal with Taliban leaders to withdraw US forces by May 1 of this year. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Sunday that the Biden administration had failed in carrying out its own plan.

When asked how long the United States should have stayed in Afghanistan, McConnell replied that he was not sure, but pointed to countries where the United States has maintained a military presence for more than ‘half a century, Germany, Japan and South Korea.

What i can tell you is [Afghanistan] was not a safe haven for Al Qaeda, not a single soldier was killed last year. It was a relatively benign way to keep the cover off to avoid exactly what you were seeing, McConnell said.

McConnell called on Biden to send troops back to Afghanistan to help with the evacuation.

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