I’m very glad to hear that the Parliamentarian provided guidance to the Senate that granting legal status to illegal immigrants is not a proper use of the reconciliation process.
Having worked on several comprehensive immigration reform bills, I believe using the reconciliation process to provide legal status to illegal immigrants would be a disaster.
It would have led to an increased run on the border – beyond the chaos we already have there today.
It would be a terrible idea to provide legal status before we secure the border and reform the immigration process which is currently being abused.
If you had any doubt of how ill-advised the Biden Administration decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was, ALL DOUBT should now be removed by the lineup of thugs and butchers who now form the interim government of Afghanistan.
What could possibly go wrong with this cast of characters?
The leader of the Interior Ministry, Sirajuddin Haqqani, has a $10 million dollar bounty on his head offered by the U.S. government because he’s a terrorist.
If you’re a radical Islamic sympathizer, this is the All-Star lineup.
If you believe in human decency, particularly for women, it is a nightmare.
This despicable terrorist attack against innocent civilians at the Kabul airport, which injured American Marines, is a reminder of the depravity the world faces from Afghanistan.
I have advocated for days that the Bagram Air Base should be reopened as the Kabul airport is very difficult to defend and has been the only evacuation outlet.
We have the capability to reestablish our presence at Bagram to continue to evacuate American citizens and our Afghan allies.
The biggest mistake in this debacle is abandoning Bagram.
He consistently rejects sound military advice and substitutes his own judgement - which over the arc of time - has been a disaster.
In the Afghanistan withdrawal:
He put in motion the leaving behind of thousands of Afghans who fought by our side, American citizens, and billions of dollars worth of American military hardware.
The fault lies with President Biden, who doesn’t have the critical thinking skills to make adjustments and has always been more political with foreign policy than conditions-based.
When it comes to assigning blame regarding the debacle in Afghanistan:
After speaking with various U.S. military leaders, one thing I am certain of is the military has consistently given sound advice to both Presidents Biden and Trump.
Our military leaders understand the benefit of a residual force to protect Afghanistan from becoming a failed state and also to prevent the rise of al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Our military leaders can only advise.
It is up to the political leadership – the Commander-in-Chief and his team – to act.
The decision to withdraw completely from Afghanistan was made AGAINST sound military advice.
It is not in our national security interest for the Taliban to take over Afghanistan because their true sympathies lie with al Qaeda and ISIS. It will only be a matter of time before our homeland is again threatened from Afghanistan.
I’m hopeful there will be an opportunity for the Biden Administration to provide meaningful assistance in the days ahead.
That will require a reassessment of their initial decision and recognition by President Biden that his decision to fully withdraw without conditions has been a complete debacle.