Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebr.) has been one of the more prominent among the chorus of Republicans criticizing the Biden administration over the Afghanistan withdrawal and appears to have taken a more hardline position on the withdrawal than he did during the Trump administration.
Sasse released a statement calling the withdrawal a “national disgrace.”
“This national disgrace is the direct result of President Biden’s cowardice and incompetence. The President made the decision to trust the Taliban. The President made the decision to set an arbitrary August 31st deadline,” he said.
He added: “The President made the decision to abandon Bagram Air Base. The President made the decision not to expand the perimeter around Karzai International Airport. The President made the decision to undermine our NATO allies. The President made the decision to break our word to our Afghan partners. The President made the decision to tell one lie after another as the crisis unfolded. The President made the morally indefensible decision to leave Americans behind. Dishonor was the President’s choice. May history never forget this cowardice.â€
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However, it is likely that Sasse would have had similar things to say about the withdrawal had former President Donald Trump remained in office. Sasse was among the Republicans who expressed reservations about the Trump administration’s decision to draw down the American military’s presence in Afghanistan.
Last year, he said any decision to leave Afghanistan should not jeopardize the safety of Americans at home and abroad.
“Headlines about ‘bringing the boys home’ sound good, but that’s not what’s happening,†he said at the time. “I fear this weak retreat is not grounded in reality and will make the world a more dangerous place.â€
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
