Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has pushed back against a looming withdrawal from Afghanistan, telling senators that pulling out of the 19-year war would be “premature” and “delight the people who wish us harm."
President Donald Trump broke Republican convention when he campaigned on an anti-war platform, promising an end to the US’ “forever wars” in the Middle East and calling George W. Bush’s war in Iraq “the worst single mistake ever made in the history of our country.” After firing a host of top Pentagon officials and installing one vocal opponent of the Afghan war in a senior role, Trump is currently preparing for a massive withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq, CNN reported on Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell isn’t pleased with the news. "A rapid withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan now would hurt our allies and delight the people who wish us harm,” the Kentucky Republican told the Senate later on Monday.
"The consequences of a premature American exit [from Afghanistan] would likely be even worse than President Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, which fueled the rise of ISIS and a new round of global terrorism,” McConnell added.
The United States has fought in Afghanistan since 2001 and Iraq since 2003. Earlier this year, under pressure from the Iraqi government and the anti-war element of his base, Trump began to withdraw US troops from Iraq. His attempts to pull out of Afghanistan have been stymied by Congress, most recently when House Democrats voted to deny funding for a withdrawal.
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