Political Quotes

“Mr. President, let me commend the stirring and thought- provoking words of my colleague from Maine, Senator King, about our responsibility with respect to those who aided and assisted us in Afghanistan and the status of this Special Immigrant Visa Program. I think we have to begin with the decision to leave, which puts these individuals at risk. In many respects, President Biden's hands were tied from the outset with regard to our policy in Afghanistan. He inherited a flawed agreement from the Trump administration, which required the United States to withdraw all military forces by May 1 in exchange for the Taliban's agreement not to attack the U.S. and coalition forces and to constrain al-Qaida from using Afghanistan as a safe haven. It does not appear that the Taliban has observed many of the conditions of this agreement, but we have observed the condition of leaving promptly. The President originally set a date of September 11, but military personnel have been able to rapidly redeploy, and within weeks, we should be moving all of our military personnel. The manner in which this agreement was reached was also deeply flawed. It was negotiated exclusively between the Trump administration and the Taliban, keeping our allies, even the Afghan Government, out. President Trump's go-it-alone, rush-to-the-exits mentality led to a deal where the Taliban emerged as the key benefactor while the United States and our allies won very little.…”