Sen. Cramer Challenges Administration’s Over-The-Horizon Plans in Afghanistan at Closed-Door Hearing

Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) participated in a closed-door Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing on the Afghanistan withdrawal today, where he challenged Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl on President Biden’s plans to use Over-The-Horizon capabilities for counterterrorism efforts.

“President Biden touts our over-the-horizon capabilities as a way to keep Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorism, but by removing our troops, allowing a hostile government in the Taliban to take over the country, and cutting multiple U.S. intelligence missions, it will be virtually impossible for over-the-horizon to be an effective tool in counterterrorism efforts,” said Senator Cramer. “His disingenuous reliance on these capabilities raises serious concerns about his strategy to keep the homeland safe. The American people deserve better answers for how we are preventing future terrorist attacks against us or our allies than what the President and his team are currently giving us.”

Today’s SASC hearing was closed-door because of its designation as Secret. It is the second step in the committee’s efforts to better understand what happened with the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Committee members received a classified briefing from former Commander of the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan General Austin Scott Miller and will be hearing from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Commander of U.S. Central Command General Frank McKenzie next week.