[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E509-E510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AMERICAN FAMILIES AT RISK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 12, 2021

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, on Saturday, a 
murderous, heinous car bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed dozens of 
girls. The intentional targeting of girls should be inconceivable but 
is the deliberate aim of fanatical totalitarians who are obsessed with 
murdering American families. Sadly, the reality of the Global War on 
Terrorism is that we must defeat terrorists overseas or they will 
return to attack American families.
  I appreciate the insight of Congressman Mike McCaul and former 
Ambassador Ryan Crocker in their May 4, 2021, op-ed in The New York 
Times:

       Last month, President Biden announced a complete withdrawal 
     of all United States troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 
     20th anniversary of the day terrorists killed almost 3,000 
     people.
       Many in the defense and intelligence communities oppose the 
     move. A complete withdrawal based on an arbitrary deadline, 
     rather than conditions on the ground, threatens our long-term 
     national security. After all, it was the decision to rapidly 
     pull out of Iraq, creating a power vacuum that allowed the 
     Islamic State to grow, that ultimately forced our return to 
     Iraq, prolonging the war.
       We cannot allow history to repeat itself.
       It's foolish to think the Taliban will engage in good faith 
     with the Afghan government or abide by the commitments made 
     to the previous administration after we've departed. In 
     response to the withdrawal announcement, the Taliban 
     tellingly announced they would not participate in a peace 
     conference planned to start late last month in Turkey and 
     refused to commit to a date in the future, effectively ending 
     the already fragile peace process. The Taliban clearly does 
     not want peace.
       In fact, after America withdraws, it's very likely the 
     Taliban will try to take control of the country, once again 
     giving our enemies a place from which to conduct external 
     attacks against us and our allies. Without a military 
     presence in country, the United States will be giving the 
     green light to the Taliban to roam and conquer.
       As William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, told the Senate 
     Intelligence Committee in April, there is ``significant 
     risk'' associated with withdrawal. ``The U.S. government's 
     ability to collect and act on threats will diminish,'' he 
     said. ``That's simply a fact.''
       The decision, however, has been made. But before the 
     pullout is complete, the Biden administration must mitigate 
     its dangers. As our sources on the ground will soon go dark, 
     the gaps in our intelligence collection and counterterrorism 
     networks must be remedied so we retain the ability to 
     identify and eliminate threats before they reach our shores. 
     To do so, we must urgently set up agreements with neighboring 
     countries to provide us with intelligence, surveillance and 
     reconnaissance capabilities.
       Mr. Biden promised that America's humanitarian and 
     development assistance to the country would continue. To 
     enable our personnel and the countless nongovernmental 
     organizations we work with to provide that help, we must keep 
     them safe. If the country slides back into civil war or once 
     again falls under Taliban rule, maintaining an embassy 
     presence and distributing assistance will become close to 
     impossible. The administration must develop a clear strategy 
     for protecting our embassy, diplomatic staff and aid workers.
       The president must also acknowledge that the withdrawal 
     will have dire consequences for Afghan women and girls--and 
     work hard to prevent it. For the past 20 years, we have 
     encouraged Afghan women to step forward, as students, 
     teachers and professionals. Encouraged by our presence, they 
     did just that. But without our presence in the country, it 
     will be difficult to safeguard the gains women have made in 
     Afghan society and to ensure women 's rights are protected.

[[Page E510]]

       Lastly, we have obligations to the thousands of Afghans who 
     supported us, mainly as interpreters for our military. They 
     were promised special immigrant visas to get them out of 
     harm's way, but many have yet to materialize. The Taliban 
     view them as traitors: Since 2014, there have been at least 
     300 targeted killings of people who worked with us. Many more 
     will die if the administration doesn't take immediate steps 
     to speed up the process to get them out safely.
       These are vital issues Mr. Biden and his team must 
     address--before we pull out on Sept. 11.
       Yet so far they have offered no clarity on what 
     counterterrorism agreements, if any, have been reached with 
     other countries. They have provided only minimal assurances 
     for how they will secure the safety of our embassy and 
     personnel. They appear to have no plans for protecting Afghan 
     women. And they have announced no strategy to address the 
     visa backlog that could endanger thousands of our Afghan 
     partners' lives.
       When America pulls out of a conflict zone at the wrong 
     time, it creates a vacuum in which the terrorist threat grows 
     again. That, in turn, eventually requires a re-entry of 
     forces to keep Americans safe. So begins yet another forever 
     war.
       The ill-advised decision to pull out of Afghanistan may do 
     just that. But by ensuring proper guardrails are in place, we 
     have a chance to limit the fallout.

                          ____________________