Former combat veteran Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said Friday on Fox News Channel’s “The Story” that President Joe Biden bears the responsibility for The Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan.
Ernst said, “This is a very grim reality, not just for the United States but for so many of our partners around the world to see Afghanistan fall like this. It is all on President Biden’s shoulders. This rapid and haphazard withdrawal of American troops, of course, before he knew that our embassy would be safe, before we had our Afghan interpreters and other friends out of Afghanistan, To allow it to fall like this without any sort of plan or recourse, it is shameful. Again, it is all on President Biden. This did not have to happen, and we just have to pick up and decide, what are we going to do now? We have women and girls that are being threatened by the Taliban, others that are being killed by the Taliban. We know that there are many other violent extremist organizations that are reconstituting in Afghanistan as we speak. This is a sincere tragedy for everyone. ”
She added, “What we had were 2,500 troops on the ground, advising and assisting the Afghan national defense security forces. They were capable of holding off the Taliban with that very small contingent of American forces. We were able to have eyes and ears on the ground, picking up intelligence, knowing the Taliban and al Qaeda’s moves. When we started this withdrawal, we lost that type of contact. We lost support for the Afghan security forces.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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