[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 25, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S3387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              AFGHANISTAN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on one final matter, the 
President's decision to retreat from Afghanistan is not clear-eyed or 
strategic; it is dangerous, wishful thinking.
  As discussions with the administration are making clear, this 
decision is not underpinned by a coherent plan to mitigate the 
geopolitical and humanitarian risks that our departure will create.
  When we are gone, after we leave, there is every reason to believe 
al-Qaida will regroup in its historic safe haven. Giving up the high 
ground while the enemy is still on the battlefield isn't a strategic 
move. Neither is banking on conducting so-called ``over the horizon'' 
counterterrorism missions without presence on the ground. If we have 
learned anything in the fight against terrorists, it is the importance 
of reliable access and local partnerships. Give up the former, and we 
likely lose the latter.
  The military currently flies both reconnaissance and strike missions 
against terrorists from within Afghanistan. The country is not easy to 
get to. Its immediate neighbors are Iran, Pakistan, and Russian-
influenced Central Asian nations. They aren't exactly likely to let us 
base significant counterterrorism units in their countries. So where 
will we be basing these forces? How will we maintain sorties from 
thousands of miles away? How many forces will be required to secure our 
Embassy? If a pro-Taliban mob threatens to overrun it, what will we do 
to protect it? Where will a quick-reaction force be based if not in 
Afghanistan? Will it be quick if its response time goes from minutes to 
hours? We learned from Benghazi the so-called tyranny of distance. If 
the Taliban takes Kabul, will the Biden administration recognize it as 
the legitimate government of Afghanistan? Will we shutter our Embassy 
and our aid programs? The reality is, they don't know. They can't say. 
There is no plan
  It is not courageous to abandon our allies. That is a view many 
Democrats said they held when the last President considered withdrawing 
from Syria and Afghanistan. But now, as Afghans, especially women and 
girls, face even worse dangers, many Democrats have suddenly become 
much less vocal. The horrific--horrific--reports of the Taliban 
beginning to reimpose their version of sharia law are just a taste of 
the catastrophes facing our friends in Afghanistan who have borne the 
brunt of the fight. Human rights. Women's rights. Counterterrorism 
refugee flows. As far as I can tell, the administration has no plan.
  But the world is watching--allies and adversaries. Democrats can 
dress up this decision in flowery language, but the world will see it 
for what it is: retreating from the fight, abandoning our partners.
  This is the President's decision. He chose precipitous withdrawal 
from Afghanistan. Unbelievably, he even chose the anniversary of 
September 11 as the deadline. As his team belatedly confronts him with 
the risks and the consequences of this decision, I hope the President 
will think again and reconsider.

                          ____________________