William Burns, director of the CIA, said that US intelligence would “decrease” after US troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
President Biden announced Wednesday afternoon that the U.S. will withdraw the remaining 2,500 troops by September 11th.
The Trump administration aimed to expel all U.S. forces from Afghanistan, where the Taliban has significant power, by May 1 if certain conditions were met in its negotiations with the Taliban. The Biden government continues Trump’s goal, but postpones the date by four months.
Burns, appointed by Biden, said the US presence in Afghanistan “kept” groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS in check.
“When the time comes for the U.S. military to withdraw, the U.S. government’s ability to gather and act on threats will diminish. That is simply a fact,” Burns said in a global threat hearing at the Senate on Wednesday. said intelligence committee.
COMMANDED FACES FEEDBACK FOR DECISION TO RETURN TROOPS BY SEPT. 11
“So, all this, to be honest, means that there is a significant risk once the US military and the coalition military withdraw,” Burns said, although he added that the US would retain a ‘range of capabilities’.
U.S. officials say the Biden government will retain the intelligence and military capabilities in the region to deal with threats, although Al Qaeda “does not currently” have the ability to attack the U.S. on U.S. soil. officials said according to Reuters.
COMMANDMENTS WANT ALL 2,500 US AFFAIRS OF AFGHANISTAN BACK ON 9/11: SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICER
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are divided over Biden’s decision to withdraw troops.
Majority leader Schumer welcomed Biden’s decision to bring troops home, saying he trusted Biden’s plan and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s. “It’s not President Trump who wakes up one morning and announces a random new policy on Twitter while generals scramble to catch up,” Schumer, D-NY., Said Wednesday.
His peer-to-peer counterpart expressed the decision. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Called the September 11 target date “bizarre.” “Obviously we need to help our opponents reward the commemoration of the 9/11 attacks by gifting the country and giving them back to them.”
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Senator Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., also attacked Biden’s plan, saying it “undermines our commitment to the Afghan people, especially Afghan women.”
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Supported the president’s decision, adding that she wished he would step down even sooner, in line with Trump’s May 1 deadline.