‘The terrorists think they beat us’: Lindsey Graham says every extremist camp is ‘on steroids’ and Biden has ‘put the world at risk’ by pulling troops from Afghanistan
Sen. Lindsey Graham took the first swing at President Joe Biden’s plan to withdraw all the U.S. troops from Afghanistan, scheduling a press conference Wednesday following the president’s remarks.
Graham told reporters that the ‘world is at risk’ thanks to Biden’s move.
‘Every terrorist camp in the world is on steroids today because in their world they beat us,’ the South Carolina Republican warned. ‘In their world, they drove us out.’
Graham accused Biden of choosing the ‘highest risk option available’ by pulling the remaining 2,500 troops out of the country starting May 1 and ending before the 20th anniverary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, which prompted the war.
He started the press conference by telling reporters how he missed fellow hawk, the late Sen. John McCain, who agreed with Graham on foreign policy decisions, but not on ex-President Donald Trump.
‘I miss John McCain a lot, but probably no more than today because if John were with us I’d be speaking second, and he would be telling you a story about how unwise this decision is to withdraw all of our forces from Afghanistan,’ Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Lindsey Graham slapped down President Joe Biden’s plan to remove the remaining U.S. forces from Afghanistan, making comments at a press conference scheduled Wednesday after Biden’s announcement speech
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that American troops would be leaving Afghanistan on May 1, the date President Donald Trump originally agreed to, and would be fully out of the country by the 20th anniversary of 9/11
Graham blasted Biden for canceling the country’s ‘insurance policy,’ arguing that groups like Al Qaeda won’t be able to regain strength if American boots remain on the ground.
‘We gain the idea that the war is now over and Joe Biden ended the longest war in American history,’ Graham said. ‘With all due respect to President Biden you have not ended the war you have extended it.’
The Republican pointed a finger at Biden during his vice presidential years for backing a full U.S. pull-out in Iraq, which resulted in the formation of ISIS.
‘You are going to do to us what you did in Iraq, put us in a world of hurt,’ Graham said.
It was President Donald Trump who etched out an agreement with the Taliban to have U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by May 1, 2021.
Biden acknowledged this wouldn’t happen – saying Wednesday that May 1 would be the drawdown’s start date instead.
Graham reminded reporters he was against this idea when Trump was in charge as well.
‘I felt it was incubment upon me to stand up to Trupm decisons that I thought would make us less safe,’ he said.
Despite these policy differences, Graham and Trump remained close allies through the ex-president’s final months, when a number of Senate Republicans split from him.
Trump and the late Sen. John McCain were another story, clashing during the 2016 campaign and until McCain’s death in August 2018.
In August 2017, McCain rolled out his own plan on how Trump should handle Afghanistan, criticizing the White House for not having one already.
That plan called for additional U.S. support.
McCain wanted Trump to add more troops for counterterrorism missions, provide the Afghans more air support and give the military more authority to target enemy forces including the Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS, CNN said.
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