Republican lawmakers, former Donald Trump administration officials and conservative commentators are reacting to Thursday’s horrific Kabul attack, not only condemning the Biden administration, but also calling for a re-invasion of Afghanistan .
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), an Afghan war hawk who recently asked President Joe Biden to be “accused” of the withdrawal, demanded on Twitter that the administration “restore our presence in Bagram as an alternative to Kabul airport, saying it was a “will problem” that had not yet been done.
“Bagram’s recovery would put our army at risk, but I think those involved in the operation would gladly accept that risk because it would restore our honor as a nation and save lives,” Graham continued.
Another Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska issued a statement urging Biden to “reverse course and fight for our people,” insisting that “weakness will accelerate bloodshed” while pushing the administration to ” take the August 31 deadline ”and expand its perimeter beyond Kabul. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) also demanded a “strong response” from the president, saying he must keep his word. [and] make these terrorists pay. “
Meanwhile, Democrats spent Thursday following expressions of condolence and mourning for the loss of U.S. service members and Afghan civilians, some offering some scattered and narrow references to the recovery.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), for example, said in a statement that “it must be clear to the world that the terrorists who perpetrated it will be sought and brought to justice.” And Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), long considered a hawk within her party, said the attack was a “tragic reminder that we must continue our counter-terrorism efforts in the Afghanistan, “which” includes making sure those responsible for today’s attacks are brought to justice. “
The harshest language of any Democrat may come from Biden himself, who spoke from the White House Thursday evening.
“Let everyone who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wants damage in the United States, know: we will not forgive. We will not forget it. We will pursue you and make you pay, “Biden said.” I will defend our interests and our people with all the measures I order … We will respond with force and precision in our time, in the place we choose and in the moment that we choose “.
The Democrats ’messaging approach focused almost entirely on supporting Biden’s withdrawal date and the effort to safely evacuate U.S. and Afghan personnel. But some lawmakers did present some occasional, albeit narrow, criticism of the administration, as the prospect of continued terrorist attacks jeopardizes the president’s commitment to leave the country on August 31 while evacuating thousands. of American citizens and Afghan allies.
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), one of the Republican Party’s top targets ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, said the U.S. must evacuate all Afghan citizens and allies “regardless of arbitrary deadlines,” a veiled shot at Biden.
Officials who know the region well, such as Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), also questioned that deadline after what Kim told The Daily Beast was a “catastrophic” day in Afghanistan.
“This attack really hurts,” said Kim, who was the main person in Afghanistan for Barack Obama’s National Security Council. “It underscores the danger that exists and why it is necessary to complete this mission.”
“We can’t leave unless we have all the Americans who want to go there,” Kim added. “I’ve heard the president say and I hope it’s true.”
Asked if he supported sending additional troops to complete the evacuation mission, as Republicans suggested, Kim said he would postpone it to the Pentagon. But he added that if the president and his advisers decided they needed more time, “more money, more troops, I will do everything humanly I can from Congress.”
Several Capitol Hill conservatives demanded brutal retaliation, with the top Republican in the Senate calling for what would amount to a double-downing of the world war on terror.
“The war is not over. A war cannot be ended unilaterally. It takes two for tango and these people will never stop fighting us. Its capabilities remain intact, “Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) told Fox News Thursday morning.” We should recover more airfields across the country … Ground troops will be needed and a full assessment of our strategy. The military can do that. We need the political will to do that. ”
Representative Mark Green (R-TN) was even more forceful in his assessment, telling Fox News that “all bets are off” because the Taliban did not fulfill their promise of safe passage at Kabul airport. and added that the United States should “expand” this operation and “start killing the bad guys.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reacted to the attack by saying it offered “the clearest possible reminder that terrorists will not stop fighting the United States just because our politicians are tired of fighting ‘ls,’ calling for a redouble of ‘our global efforts to confront these barbaric enemies who want to kill the Americans and attack our homeland.’
Blackburn also called for the president to resign or be fired for the bloody terrorist attack, a mantra repeated by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), who had previously positioned himself as a critic of “war forever.”
“It is now clear, without any doubt, that he has neither the ability nor the will to lead. He has to resign, “he tweeted to Hawley on Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, former Trump National Security Adviser McMaster has openly speculated that ISIS-K and the Taliban may have worked together in the suicide attacks despite Taliban casualties and long-running hostilities between the two terrorist groups. “I wouldn’t be surprised if ISIS-K was used as a cutback for the Taliban so they could humiliate us on the way out,” McMaster told CNN.
“Was it really worth it? What would be a better result? “A sustained commitment by a few thousand U.S. troops that continued to allow Afghans to bear the brunt of the struggle or this catastrophe we are seeing now,” McMaster added. “We have this story of ‘ending the endless wars.’ but it is an endless jihad against us and if we do not recognize that we are putting ourselves at an extraordinarily high risk. “
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), a critic of Trump and another Conservative hawk, praised McMaster’s statements during several cable news hits on Thursday. He also fired the “end of the multitude of endless wars,” the Illinois congressman exclaimed that the “endless war has just been fired again” and that America’s next decision will determine “the future of terrorism. not just in the region, but in this world. “
“Air superiority is something we have always had in Afghanistan.”
– Kash Patel, former head of Trump’s Pentagon
Trump’s allies, who supported the former president’s Taliban peace deal, the release of prisoners and the negotiation of the withdrawal of troops, quickly jumped at the chance to blow up the current administration while they called for greater military action.
“Air superiority is something we’ve always had in Afghanistan,” former Trump Pentagon chief of staff Kash Patel said during a Fox News appearance. “And our predator program dominated the sky under President Trump, and we can do it again if we take back Bagram airfield because that’s the central point of the country.”
Former President Rudy Giuliani’s only personal lawyer tweeted that “terrorist attacks in Kabul were only possible because the Biden administration withdrew our troops, abandoned our air base and left massive weapons for terrorists. they would kill us “. Bernie Kerik, a former New York City police chief whom Trump forgave before stepping down, he claimed Trump would do it “Afghanistan’s carpet bomb right now.”
In recent days, the former president has been prolific in his public statements condemning his successor, including on Thursday a fundraising appeal asking Biden to “RESIGN” and reiterating his lie that Biden had lost the presidential race of 2020 against Trump.
In private, the former president has sometimes been graphic in his descriptions of what he claims he would do if he were still in power, including the fact that American “assassins” would eliminate dozens of enemies for every American that turned out. injured during this crisis. , according to two sources familiar with the matter.
And at a time of rhetorical divergence last week, Trump, who for years called for the withdrawal of the United States from Iraq and Afghanistan (though he did not do so during his tenure and had risen in Afghanistan at the beginning of his presidency), apparently approved a possible re-invasion and a new wave of American military participation.
During his rally in Alabama last weekend, Trump said, “We need to get in and we should get in when it’s right, and now maybe we should be forced to get in. [to Afghanistan] because this person who runs our country made a horrible decision to take out all our powerful military. “
He went on to say that the US could be forced to enter and perhaps not be forced to. “But maybe we’ll be forced to come in,” he said. At the same rally, the former president also characterized the Taliban as “tough fighters” as well as “big negotiators.”
However, at the same time, according to the two people familiar with the matter, Trump has privately expressed his irritation with other prominent Republicans who have also defended the invasion, but who would like U.S. troops to continue. “forever”.
However, the feeling of blood seemed to be strongest among right-wing experts and commentators who apparently sought to use the attack as a jumping off point for another hot war in Afghanistan.
“For all murdered Americans, a city in Afghanistan should be cleared of the Earth’s surface,” said Todd Starnes, a conservative talk radio presenter and former Fox News personality. he tweeted just before it was revealed that members of the U.S. service had died in the attack.
“I was an E6 in the Marine Corp and I’ll tell you, war dogs are hungry and maybe it’s time to let them eat,” said Johnny “Joey” Jones, a veteran who lost his legs in Afghanistan. he exclaimed Thursday afternoon. “I hate that, he didn’t wake up … but, as we would say, stack the bodies and let them see.”