Mitch McConnell: Biden Is Paying More Attention to ‘Arbitrary Timetables’ Than Reality in Afghanistan Crisis

President Joe Biden is paying more attention to “arbitrary timetables than to reality” in addressing the crisis in Afghanistan, where thousands of Americans remain stranded as the Biden administration sticks to the Taliban’s August 31 deadline, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on Tuesday.

“The President needs to clearly and firmly state the United States will stay as long as it takes and use whatever force is necessary to ensure we do not abandon our people or our friends,” the minority leader said.

“But he keeps paying more attention to arbitrary timetables than to reality,” McConnell added, criticizing Biden’s leadership:

The President needs to clearly and firmly state the United States will stay as long as it takes and use whatever force is necessary to ensure we do not abandon our people or our friends. But he keeps paying more attention to arbitrary timetables than to reality.

— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) August 25, 2021

In an appearance on Fox News Wednesday, McConnell took his critiques further, characterizing the crisis as one of the “greatest foreign policy disasters in American history” and describing Biden’s decision to leave as “reckless.”

Months ago, McConnell said, 2,500 troops were in Afghanistan, and the Taliban, which he referred to as “barbarians,” were not in charge of the country. For those reasons alone, the Kentucky Republican said the decision to withdraw was a monumental mistake. But, moving forward, McConnell said Biden needs to forget about the August 31 deadline and send in enough American military personnel to rescue stranded Americans. They need get outside the perimeter, he continued, and get every American out who wants to leave, as well as Afghan allies:

President Biden’s reckless decisions in Afghanistan have alienated our NATO allies and weakened our global efforts against terror. pic.twitter.com/cE2PwopcsG

— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) August 25, 2021

Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) expressed doubt that the U.S. will be able to evacuate all Americans and allies from the Kabul airport by the looming August 31 deadline.

“Hopefully, as many as those people [Afghans and Americans] will be evacuated as possible — hopefully all,” she told reporters.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan to meet the jihadist organization’s firm deadline. According to reports, as of Tuesday, 70,700 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan, but only 4,000 of those are American citizens. The day prior, a congressional estimate indicated 10,000 Americans are still stranded in the country.