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McConnell calls for US airstrikes to stop Taliban advance
The Hill ^ | 08/13/21 06:13 PM EDT | BY CAROLINE VAKIL

Posted on 08/14/2021 4:19:05 AM PDT by RandFan

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday that the U.S. should start conducting airstrikes against the Taliban and provide support to Afghan forces to stop the insurgent group from capturing the Afghan capital amid the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

McConnell said in a statement that “it is not too late to prevent the Taliban from overrunning Kabul. The Administration should move quickly to hammer Taliban advances with air strikes, provide critical support to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) defending the capital, and prevent the seemingly imminent fall of the city.”

“If they fail to do so, the security threat to the United States will assuredly grow and the humanitarian cost to innocent Afghans will be catastrophic,” the Kentucky senator warned.

McConnell also mentioned that he had spoken with the Afghanistan ambassador to the U.S., saying they had “an urgent conversation” regarding “the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and the unfolding humanitarian crisis."

Republicans have in recent days ramped up their criticism of President Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops as conditions in Afghanistan have been rapidly deteriorating amid the Taliban’s recent gains.

The Taliban now control 14 of the country’s 34 provincial capitals, according to The Associated Press. Several major cities, including Kandahar and Herat, were captured this week.

Biden defended his decision to withdraw troops last month, rejecting the notion that a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan was “inevitable.”

“The Taliban is not the North Vietnamese Army. They're not remotely comparable in terms of capability,” he said during a speech in the White House East Room. “There's going to be no circumstances where you’re going to see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy in the United States from Afghanistan.”

The president made a similar sentiment on Tuesday, pointing to the amount of money that the U.S. has spent on Afghanistan and the number of Afghan forces the U.S. trained.

"We spent over $1 trillion over 20 years. We trained and equipped with modern equipment over 300,000 Afghan forces," Biden said at a news conference. "And Afghan leaders have to come together. We lost thousands, we lost to death and injury, thousands of American personnel. They’ve got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation."

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday urged the Taliban to halt their offensive and “negotiate in good faith.”

“The message from the international community to those on the warpath must be clear: seizing power through military force is a losing proposition. That can only lead to prolonged civil war or to the complete isolation of Afghanistan,” Guterres said.

“I call on the Taliban to immediately halt the offensive and to negotiate in good faith in the interest of Afghanistan and its people,” he continued.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
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Just can't let go can he? 20 years not enough?
1 posted on 08/14/2021 4:19:05 AM PDT by RandFan
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To: RandFan
“There's going to be no circumstances where you’re going to see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy in the United States from Afghanistan.”

So, what I hear you saying, is that we should expect to see people being lifted off the roof of an embassy in the United States from Afghanistan.

2 posted on 08/14/2021 4:20:58 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (We have two Democrat parties. 50% of the US population has no political representation.)
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To: RandFan

McConnell has made Kentucky and the entire US the
puppet of CHINA. Just like he and his sister in law
were paid for.

McConnell is just following Orders, just like
with his sedition and endless lies to Americans.


3 posted on 08/14/2021 4:21:27 AM PDT by Diogenesis (Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum)
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To: RandFan

Thank you General McConnell. Such a jerk.


4 posted on 08/14/2021 4:25:18 AM PDT by The Free Engineer
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To: RandFan

McCain has returned.


5 posted on 08/14/2021 4:25:50 AM PDT by stuckinloozeeana
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To: ClearCase_guy

Probably not, because leaked memos are telling journalists not to promote any “Saigonesque” imagery that would cause panic or harm.


6 posted on 08/14/2021 4:27:40 AM PDT by Shadow44
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To: RandFan

I don’t care one iota about what McConnell “calls for”

He is the enemy in my book after the Infrastructure Bill

GIANT CAVE.

Mitch, you are a Eunich, worthless in every way.


7 posted on 08/14/2021 4:30:18 AM PDT by Maris Crane
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To: Diogenesis

Time to repeal the 17th Amendment


8 posted on 08/14/2021 4:30:30 AM PDT by Article10 (Roger That)
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To: Diogenesis

When your enemy (Biden) is digging a hole, let him. Biden is CIC. He owns this entirely. He set the date for withdrawal and is responsible for its execution.


9 posted on 08/14/2021 4:31:02 AM PDT by kabar
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Real Americans would like to drop McConnell out a bomb bay door and into the hands of the Tally Wackers.


10 posted on 08/14/2021 4:34:04 AM PDT by JonPreston (Q: Never have so many, been so wrong, so often)
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To: kabar

Xiden has THREATENED to nuke US cities
in which he has ALREADY quartered diseases.

He owns that.

Should we let him continue???

...or should 200 million very angry
Americans with dead and maimed in their families
arise, and end this farce,
and make the horse (US) thieves and G-O-F Bioweapons
makers/releasers obtain a bit of Justice.


11 posted on 08/14/2021 4:34:52 AM PDT by Diogenesis (Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum)
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To: RandFan

The military has proved over and over again they can’t train squat to fight unless we are there with them, Vietnam, Iraq prime examples. White extremists according to Miley is most likely the reason and he is trying to rectify that problem with videos and a apology tour from the 4 star white race.


12 posted on 08/14/2021 4:37:38 AM PDT by wild74
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To: Diogenesis

What you said...


13 posted on 08/14/2021 4:48:44 AM PDT by WinstonSmith1984 (The DOJ is a far left militia.)
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To: RandFan

Rather, “the enemy has us surrounded: they can’t escape now.” The concentration of Taliban troops now likely provides an unprecedented opportunity to wipe out more of them via airpower in one day or so then perhaps the last 20 years, at little risk to allied soldiers. A final but climatic exit.


14 posted on 08/14/2021 4:51:23 AM PDT by daniel1212 ( Turn to the Lord Jesus as a damned+destitute sinner, trust Him to save + be baptized + follow Him!)
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To: Article10
Time to repeal the 17th Amendment

EXACTLY

15 posted on 08/14/2021 4:53:38 AM PDT by fedupjohn (Waiting for Trump's new Caribbean Resort "Club Gitmo" to open for business! )
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To: RandFan
Too little, too late, you doddering old fool, McConnell.

Not only has the Taliban taken over the entire country, they have defacto taken over Kabul.

And murdered thousands. It will be a blood bath.

Nice job Biden.

16 posted on 08/14/2021 4:55:33 AM PDT by HotHunt
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To: RandFan
It's too late to stop the Taliban with airstrikes. They are already close enough to Kabul Airport to stop flights if they wish. It's a chess match, and we are in check.

We are at their mercy for the evacuation. A land convoy evacuation is impossible. It's by air out of Kabul International, or thousands of our evacuees will be trapped and taken prisoner or worse.

It's a total clusterf#ck, the worst military retreat in history.


17 posted on 08/14/2021 5:01:28 AM PDT by Travis McGee (EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: daniel1212

Nope. See 17.


18 posted on 08/14/2021 5:02:08 AM PDT by Travis McGee (EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: RandFan

Who’s Turtle’s security advisor, Xerxes?


19 posted on 08/14/2021 5:03:15 AM PDT by BiglyCommentary
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To: wild74

The South Vietnamese fought on almost two years after the US military left. They were defeated after the Dem-controlled Congress cut off all military assistance and the North Vietnamese violated the Paris Peace Accords by invading without suffering any consequences.


20 posted on 08/14/2021 5:03:21 AM PDT by kabar
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