(LibertySociety.com) – In 2014, when Secretary of State Anothony Blinken was up for the deputy position, the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) took to the Senate floor to speak out against the nomination. McCain alleged Blinken was both unqualified for the job and a danger to America and service members fighting in Afghanistan.
Given President Joe Biden’s recent troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, McCain’s words to Congress have resurfaced.
“[Mr. Blinken] has actually been dangerous to America and to the young men and women who are fighting and serving it,” McCain said.
The late senator worried that supporting Blinken’s position on the withdrawal from the Middle East would lead to another situation like the one in Iraq, which led to the rise of ISIS.
In December 2014, John McCain came down to the Senate floor to warn his colleagues about Anthony Blinken. And Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/3gP1hvKshj
— POLARIS (@polarisnatsec) August 17, 2021
Today, Taliban extremists control all but a few districts in Afghanistan. The Taliban have surrounded the Hamid Karzai International Airport and are monitoring all roads leading there. It’s unclear what the future of troops and innocent civilians left in the country will be, although efforts to evacuate them are underway.
In an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace on Sunday, August 22, Blinken said America’s purpose in going to war with Afghanistan was to prevent al-Qaida from launching another large-scale terrorist attack on the US, to bring down Osama bin Laden, and to seek retribution for the 9/11 attacks. Blinked noted that those objectives had been accomplished.
According to Blinken, al-Qaida’s ability to repeat the horrors of 9/11 on American soil is diminished. However, the threat of harm to our soldiers, civilians, and allies on Afghan soil remains as the Taliban tightens its hold.
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