Senator Lindsey Graham said Tuesday night that President Joe Biden “should be charged” with the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which the Republican lawmaker described as “the most dishonorable thing a commander has done in towards modern times “.
“This is the resignation of the commander-in-chief’s duty,” Graham (R-SC) told Fox News in “Hannity.”
“This makes it harder to fight in future wars. Who will help us in the future after leaving our friends in Afghanistan who fought valiantly? Graham continued.
“And the likelihood of a 9/11 is now on the roof, because Al Qaeda and ISIS are coming after us. If you think we left Afghanistan and ended the war between the United States and radical Islam, you are “They’re chasing us and Joe Biden has left us naked and blind in Afghanistan.”
The senator responded to Biden’s insistence Tuesday before U.S. forces were up to date to complete his evacuation mission later this month. The Taliban, who quickly regained power in Afghanistan, called the August 31 date a “red line,” beyond which no U.S. troops can remain in the country.
“The sooner we can finish, the better. Every day of operations carries an added risk for our troops, “Biden said in statements from the White House’s Roosevelt Hall.” But completion before August 31 depends on the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow the airport access “.
Graham translated the president ‘s statements to mean that “he will leave [on the] On August 31 because the Taliban told him he had to leave. There is no way to hell to take out all American citizens. We will leave behind thousands of Afghans who fought along the outside and set the table for the rise of Al Qaeda and ISIS to attack us along the way.
“President Biden has signed the death sentence for thousands of Afghans who helped us,” Graham added. “It washes the hands of Afghanistan at our peril as a nation.”
Lawmakers on both sides have strongly criticized the execution of the evacuation of thousands of Americans and their Afghan allies from Hamid Karzai International Airport, outside the capital Kabul. Since the Taliban entered the city on August 15, thousands of people have surrounded the gates, buildings and pavements of the airport, trying to get off a flight by any means necessary, even losing their lives in the attempt.
Earlier Tuesday, Reps Seth Moulton (Massachusetts) and Peter Meijer (Massachusetts) warned after visiting the airport to observe the operation in person that U.S. forces “will not take everyone out in time,” even all if the evacuation deadline is extended to the original 9/11 date.
Graham agreed with his assessment, adding that if the administration met the August 31 deadline, evacuation flights carrying American and Afghan civilians would have to begin to close. at the end of this week to leave enough time for American forces to leave the country.
“I have 200 [evacuation] cases in my office right now. Ten are American citizens. There is no way to get them all out, ”he said. “The operation really ends this weekend. On August 31 we will have all our troops out.
“So how do you get to Kabul in these circumstances? The Taliban are not agitating you. So yes, there is no way to get all American citizens out and we can’t help but leave tens of thousands of Afghans behind. “