By Bonnie Kristian
The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act has made headlines mostly in connection to President Trump’s insistence that he will veto the annual military funding resolution if it does not change the regulation of social media sites and preclude renaming of military bases honoring leaders of the Confederacy. But the bill deserves public attention for reasons other than these lame-duck nonsequiturs, which may well be overridden by a veto-proof congressional majority: The 2021 NDAA would make it more difficult to end the 19-year war in Afghanistan.
As written, the bill implements two roadblocks to withdrawal from Afghanistan, where U.S. intervention has long since devolved into a grinding stalemate with nothing resembling victory to be had. It permits Congress to withhold funds for withdrawal until the Pentagon and other executive branch agencies report to Congress. This reporting requirement is triggered before U.S. troop levels are reduced below 4,000 (or whatever number is deployed when the NDAA is passed) and again before a reduction below 2,000.
These roadblocks are cast as accountability measures, a means by which the executive branch can fulfill its “constitutional obligation to provide the Congress and the American people with regular, timely, and comprehensive information on the status of security operations and diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan.” Ordinarily, any accountability in U.S. foreign policy would be welcome news. But, whatever the rhetoric may suggest, the goal here isn’t accountability — not really, not primarily. The goal is to further prolong what is already the United States’ longest war by suffocating what little political will in Washington exists to bring forth the withdrawal from Afghanistan desired by about 3 in 4 Americans.
This piece was originally published in The Washington Examiner on December 11, 2020. Read more HERE.