SC’s Graham calls new Afghan government ‘thugs and butchers,’ says US will have to return
Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has been critical of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan, predicts the U.S. military will have to return the country to prevent future terrorist attacks on Western targets.
In an interview with the BBC on Monday, Graham predicted the U.S. would have to go back into Afghanistan, “because the threat will be so large.”
“Here’s where we’re at as a world,” Graham said. “The Taliban are not reformed, they’re not new. They have a view of the world out of sync with modern times. They’re going to impose a lifestyle on the Afghan people that I think is going to make all of us sick to our stomach.”
Graham has long been a supporter of military intervention in the Middle East, including voting for the war in Iraq. He warned former President Donald Trump against his agreement with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. military forces from Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden has said he believes the U.S. can counter terrorist threats with military technology without having large numbers of troops on the ground, according to the New York Times.
Graham said the Taliban won’t be able to govern Afghanistan, and the U.S. will need to support resistance within the country.
“What’s going to happen over time is you’re going to see the resistance rise, ISIS will come after the Taliban ... and the entire country is going to fracture in the next year creating a perfect storm for Western interests to be attacked,” Graham said. “You could do one of two things. You could say that’s no longer my problem, let it build and get hit, or hit them before they hit you.”
On Tuesday, Graham called the interim government set up by the Taliban a “lineup of thugs and butchers.”
He pointed to how the FBI has a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of the Taliban’s Interior Ministry leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, for being a wanted terrorist.
“What could possibly go wrong with this cast of characters?” Graham said. “If you’re a radical Islamic sympathizer, this is an all-star lineup.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 5:23 PM.
