GOP Congressman Blames Trump Administrator for Afghanistan Crisis: “They Failed This”

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By Devan Cole and Daniella Diaz, CNN

Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger on Sunday blamed the Trump administration for the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, saying his 2020 deal with the Taliban sowed the seeds for the turbulent US exit from the country.

“Let’s keep in mind that (former Secretary of State) Mike Pompeo met the Taliban. As Donald Trump said publicly: “We must leave Afghanistan at all costs. It’s not worth it, ‘Mike Pompeo meets the Taliban and tries to negotiate something, “Kinzinger, who represents Illinois, told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on” State of the Union. “

“They put this in place to fail. But still, of course, Joe Biden could have easily turned the tide and used it instead as an excuse to get out, ”he added.

Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, told Keilar that “both sides have failed the American people and this cannot continue. And it certainly cannot continue by pointing fingers when America is embarrassed in front of the world. “

Kinzinger’s comments add to some of the few criticisms within the party that have been leveled at the Trump administration in recent days as the United States rushes to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies from the country after its Civilian government in Kabul fell to Taliban fighters last weekend.

After years of negotiations, the Taliban and the Trump administration finally signed a peace accord in 2020. The United States agreed to withdraw its troops and release some 5,000 Taliban prisoners, while the Taliban agreed to take measures to prevent any group or individual, including al-Qaeda, from using Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States or its allies.

Republicans pile up on Biden administration for withdrawal

While the Trump administration has taken heat for its decisions in Afghanistan, Republicans, including Kinzinger, are also lashing out at the Biden administration for the precarious withdrawal of Americans and Afghan allies from the country.

The Illinois Republican told Keilar in his interview that although he believed the president was “trying” to oversee a rapid withdrawal of the people from the country, “the execution was extremely disastrous.”

In the past 24 hours, more than 7,500 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan via US military planes or flights facilitated by the US through private organizations and partnerships with other countries, Keilar told Sunday. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, criticized the Biden administration on Sunday for failing to quickly evacuate Americans and Afghan allies from the country, saying the president “ignored the advice of its military leaders.”

“The fact that we are now somehow relying on the Taliban to protect the Americans and the White House denies what we know is happening on the ground, which is that the Americans are being beaten, that they are being prevented from getting to the airport gates, and they are likely being held hostage, ”Cheney said on NBC News’s“ Meet the Press ”.

Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa also berated Biden over the situation in Afghanistan, telling ABC News “This Week”: “He knew that day was coming, and again he was very slow to respond to questions. needs not only of our American citizens, by withdrawing these troops before we got them out of Afghanistan safe and sound, but it also again endangered those who were our partners in a protracted war on terror ”, said referring to the Afghans who assisted the United States throughout the war.

And Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, told “Fox News Sunday” that “the incompetence of the president and his team has brought us here,” urging them to remove the August 31 deadline to remove all US troops from Afghanistan.

“August 31 was a stupid and arbitrary political deadline. The Taliban need to know that they are not dictating the timing of American life, ”Sasse said. “We need the president to make it clear that we will complete the mission. “

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.

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