Exit from Afghanistan remains necessary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 24, 2021
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org

WASHINGTON, DC—Tomorrow, President Biden will meet with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani at the White House. Defense Priorities Senior Fellow Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis issued the following statement in response:

“The case for withdrawing all remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September remains strong and urgent. After 20 years, tens of thousands of casualties, and $2 trillion, the U.S. has wasted far too much trying to stabilize Afghanistan. President Biden is right to see U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan’s civil war as a costly failure and a distraction from higher national security priorities.

“It’s true Afghan security forces will struggle to hold ground in a post-U.S. Afghanistan. But the alternative of keeping U.S. forces in the country to prop them up will not solve their problems. Extending the U.S. deployment would trap thousands of U.S. soldiers in a civil war they cannot win and risk more unnecessary American casualties.

“Afghanistan was at war before the U.S. entered the conflict, and it will unfortunately remain a country at war after the U.S. leaves. The U.S. has accomplished its principal counterterrorism goals and should proceed with its withdrawal.”