MILITARY WITHDRAWAL; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 194

<!-- -->

MILITARY WITHDRAWAL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on a totally different matter, the last

several days have brought renewed speculation about the prospect of

rapidly withdrawing all U.S. military forces from Syria, Iraq, and

Afghanistan.

Here in Congress, a small minority in both parties seem to think it

is in America's power to unilaterally remove conflicts by simply

walking away from them.

Let me say that again. A small minority in both parties seem to think

it

\\\[\\\[\[Page\](https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-166/senate-section/page/S6688) \[S6688\](https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-166/senate-section/page/S6688)\\\]\\\]

is in America's power to unilaterally resolve conflicts by simply

walking away from them.

Of course all wars must end. The question is now how they end and

whether the terms on which they end are favorable or unfavorable to the

security and interests of the United States.

And nothing about the circumstances we face today suggests that if we

lose resolve, the terrorists will simply leave us alone.

Over the last 4 years, the Trump administration has made tremendous

headway in creating the conditions that will secure the enduring defeat

of the terrorists. This President and his policies have strengthened

America's hand in multiple Middle East conflicts while reducing the

risks and costs to our country. The ISIS caliphate has been shattered,

and millions have been liberated from their brutal rule. We have

removed master terrorists like al-Baghdadi, Soleimani, and senior al-

Qaida and ISIS leaders from the battlefield.

The Trump administration has brokered diplomatic successes that

should help bring long-term stability and more economic opportunity to

a troubled region. The Abraham Accords are a geostrategic game changer.

The last 4 years have also brought increased skin in the game from

our allies and our partners. Our friends in Europe and elsewhere have a

shared interest in stopping safe havens for terror. Today, in Africa,

our limited American presence supports a multinational initiative led

by France to combat radical Islamic terrorists.

Likewise, in places where American forces continue to play roles in

ongoing conflicts across the broader Middle East, Secretaries Mattis

and Esper worked hard and successfully to secure renewed contributions

from European partners and to transition our posture more and more

toward a supporting role.

Our local partners are demonstrably shouldering the lion's share of

the burden in the fight. In neither Afghanistan nor Iraq nor Syria are

American combat forces playing a primary role.

We have scored major battlefield successes by supporting and working

with and through local partners, such as the Afghan National Security

Forces, the elite Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service, and the local

Kurdish and Arab fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

So the situation we face today is totally different than what we

faced 10 years ago. We do not have hundreds of thousands of soldiers

engaged in combat abroad.

We do not have hundreds of thousands of soldiers engaged in combat

abroad. We are not an occupying force.

Today, our limited American military presence in the Middle East is

supporting local forces and enabling multinational efforts.

We are playing a limited--limited but important role in defending

American national security and American interests against terrorists

who would like nothing more than for the most powerful force for good

in the world to simply pick up our ball and go home.

They would love that. That is why, last year, 70 Senators--a

bipartisan supermajority--voted for an amendment I authored that

acknowledged the progress made in Syria and Afghanistan, identified the

risks that remain, and cautioned that precipitous withdrawal would

create vacuums that Iran, Russia, and the terrorists would be

delighted--delighted--to fill.

There is no American who does not wish the war in Afghanistan against

terrorists and their enablers had already been conclusively won. But

that does not change the actual choice before us now.

A rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan now would hurt our

allies and delight--delight--the people who wish us harm. Violence

affecting Afghans is still rampant. The Taliban is not abiding by the

conditions of the so-called peace deal.

The consequences of a premature American exit would likely be even

worse than President Obama's withdrawal from Iraq back in 2011, which

fueled--fueled--the rise of ISIS and a new round of global terrorism.

It would be reminiscent of the humiliating American departure from

Saigon in 1975.

We would be abandoning our partners in Afghanistan, the brave Afghans

who are fighting the terrorists and destroying the government's

leverage in their talks with the Taliban that are designed to end the

fighting.

Our retreat would embolden the Taliban, especially the deadly Haqqani

wing, and risk plunging Afghan women and girls back into what they

experienced back in the 1990s. It would hand a weakened and scattered

al-Qaida a big, big propaganda victory and a renewed safe haven for

plotting attacks against America. And it would be welcome news to Iran,

which has long provided arms and support to the Taliban and explicitly

seeks our retreat from the Middle East.

A disorganized retreat would jeopardize the track record of major

successes this administration has worked hard to compile. A number of

former officials and Ambassadors recently stated: \\\`\\\`The spectacle of

U.S. troops abandoning facilities and equipment, leaving the field in

Afghanistan to the Taliban and ISIS, would be broadcast around the

world as a symbol of U.S. defeat and humiliation, and a victory for

Islamist extremism.''

President Trump deserves major credit--major credit--for reducing

U.S. forces in Afghanistan to a sustainable level, scoring major

victories against terrorists across the region, and ensuring the

Afghans themselves are at the front of the fight.

That same successful approach should continue until the conditions

for the long-term defeat of ISIS and al-Qaida have been achieved.

&nbsp;