[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              AFGHANISTAN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, ``Biden takes the easy way out of 
Afghanistan. The likely result is disaster.'' This is the morning's 
lead editorial from one of the Nation's most liberal newspapers.
  The administration has decided to abandon U.S. efforts in 
Afghanistan, which have helped keep radical Islamic terrorism in check, 
and bizarrely, they decided to do so by September 11. Apparently, we 
are to help our adversaries ring in the anniversary of the 
9/11 attacks by giftwrapping the country and handing it right back to 
them.
  Here is what this administration's own national intelligence threat 
assessment says will happen:

       The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and 
     the Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at 
     bay if the coalition withdraws support.

  This is a quote from this administration.
  In 2019, the Democratic leader and the now chairman of the Foreign 
Relations Committee expressed outrage that the previous administration 
considered hosting Taliban officials for discussions around the date of 
September 11.
  But now a Democratic administration is going to skip the negotiations 
and just surrender an entire country back to the Taliban on the very 
same date? Our President should remember what happened when the Obama 
administration let political considerations rush a retreat from Iraq--
total chaos and bloodshed and ISIS.
  Two years ago, I wrote a bipartisan amendment that warned a 
Republican administration against recklessly withdrawing from 
Afghanistan or Syria. A supermajority of Senators right here voted for 
it. A supermajority of Senators voted for it, warning that the 
terrorist threat had not abated. Where are the Democratic voices today? 
I hope we will hear from some of them.
  Unfortunately, this mistake in Afghanistan is one of several 
instances of this new administration's surrendering leverage without 
making America, our allies, or our interests more secure.
  In January, President Biden extended the New START agreement with 
Russia by Executive order for 5 years--no strings attached, no 
concessions secured, not even a shorter term extension to keep up 
pressure on Russia to cooperate on a better agreement. Just a gift--a 
gift.
  And then there is Iran. Senior administration officials have gone 
from denigrating the former administration's ``maximum pressure'' 
strategy to simply begging for direct talks with Iran, to proactively 
offering to remove sanctions that are ``inconsistent with the JCPOA.'' 
So which sanctions exactly are inconsistent with the JCPOA? Our 
sanctions on Iran's terrorist organizations or its ballistic missile 
program?
  Most Republicans would be thrilled if President Biden could actually 
secure a better deal that holds Iran accountable. Giving up the 
leverage of sanctions before we even get to the table--before we even 
get to the table--or just return to a bad deal is certainly not a good 
sign.
  It would be hard to support any deal that isn't part of a broader 
strategy that also confronts the nonnuclear threats Iran poses to 
America and to the region.
  On China, the administration's tough talk has been welcome, but its 
proposal to cut defense spending after inflation suggests there is less 
interest in walking the walk. We will not keep pace with China and 
Russia by cutting defense spending to placate fringe parts of the far 
left.
  The American people need and they deserve a foreign policy that puts 
our security, our partners, and our interests ahead of the reflexive 
desire to break with the last 4 years at any cost--at any cost.
  If this administration wants a successful legacy on the world stage, 
if they want accomplishments that will endure, they need to put 
American strength back at the center and come back to a bipartisan 
mainstream.

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