On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America Reports,” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) stated that conducting raids like the one that took out ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi is possible because we have resources around Syria that we don’t have in Afghanistan and we’re seeing “ISIS migrating to Afghanistan, to that Taliban caliphate, and I’m really concerned about our ability to stop that flow.”
Waltz said, “[T]he reason we’re able to conduct these types of raids is we have bases in the region. We have local allies on the ground. We have our special forces partnered with them, and all of the things necessary with our drones, airstrikes, and others to conduct this type of raid. Because we have that forward presence. And my concern would be if you start seeing the administration say look, we did over-the-horizon counterterrorism in Syria, we can do the same in Afghanistan, nothing to worry about there. Very different situation, and all those things that we have around Syria, bases and allies and intel., we no longer have in Afghanistan and what you’re seeing is ISIS migrating to Afghanistan, to that Taliban caliphate, and I’m really concerned about our ability to stop that flow.”
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