Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement after the committee received a classified briefing on security in Afghanistan and south and central Asia:
“Today’s briefing confirmed yet again what we’ve known all along: the United States is now less safe than before President Biden’s disastrous decision to unconditionally and entirely withdraw from Afghanistan. The 2020 Doha agreement laid out clear conditions the Taliban had to meet before the withdrawal of U.S. troops. General Milley told us last month six of the seven required conditions weren’t met, but President Biden ignored those conditions — and also the advice of his military advisors — and withdrew U.S. forces anyway.
“Now, it’s clear that Taliban can’t — and won’t — do anything to prevent al-Qaeda from training in or launching attacks from Afghanistan. If the Taliban does anything, it will be only to enable al-Qaeda. It’s also clear that without a U.S. diplomatic or military presence on the ground, we are in a worse place to understand and track the terrorist threats coming from Afghanistan.
“Next week, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hear from Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl, where I hope he’ll tell us how the Biden administration intends to deal with the serious national security consequences of our departure from Afghanistan — among the many other questions I have for him.”