Ernst Meets with President Ghani of Afghanistan

Click HERE to download the photo of Ernst meeting with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani. 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a former military commander during Operation Iraqi Freedom and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after meeting with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan and H.E. Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States:

“As someone who commanded troops overseas during Operation Iraqi Freedom, I was glad to take part in these important conversations with Afghan leaders, especially as our two countries face a pivotal point in our relationship.

“No one rejoiced more in President Biden’s plan to unconditionally and completely draw down U.S. forces in Afghanistan by September 11, 2021 than the Taliban. Already we’ve seen heightened security threats for Afghan women and those who have proudly worked alongside us in the fight against terrorism. To hastily drawn down America’s presence in Afghanistan will only leave the door open to more tragedy and increased terrorist activity.

“Today’s conversations with top Afghan officials, including President Ghani, underscored the urgent need for President Biden to reverse his decision and delay the complete withdrawal, and to have a clear plan in place to protect those who fought with us and to ensure our homeland and the Afghan people are not at risk of a Taliban resurgence.”

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