FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 21, 2021
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, President Biden delivered an address at the United Nations General Assembly. Defense Priorities Fellow Daniel DePetris issued the following statement in response:
“For the first time in 20 years, a U.S. president addressed the U.N. General Assembly without a single U.S. soldier deployed on Afghan soil. Concluding the longest war in U.S. history and extricating U.S. forces from Afghanistan should be commended.
“Despite President Biden’s proclamation that the U.S. is no longer a nation at war, the U.S. military continues to fight a global war on terrorism that shows no sign of ending anytime soon. The U.S. operates train-and-advise operations in dozens of countries around the world, from Niger and Madagascar to the Philippines and India. U.S. drone and air strikes continue in Syria, Somalia, and Yemen. Approximately 2,500 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, more than two years after ISIS’s caliphate was destroyed. Nearly 1,000 U.S. soldiers remain in Eastern Syria, in a highly dangerous environment, on behalf of a mission that Congress hasn’t debated, let alone authorized.
“The U.S. exit from Afghanistan was an important step in winding down Washington’s post-9/11 mistakes, but the U.S. should extricate itself from open-ended presence missions throughout the Middle East and Africa. Instead, the U.S. should focus on the limited anti-U.S. terror threats that exist. Targeted raids and intelligence sharing with local U.S. partners are more effective than our costly, open-ended forward troop deployments.”
Defense Priorities explainer: Counter anti-U.S. terror threats with targeted raids, not permanent occupations
Defense Priorities report: Global Posture Review 2021: An opportunity for realism and realignment