Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Sunday said questions remain about the influences on President Joe Biden — including from China — that may have played a part on his decision to close Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, and release prisoners there.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” McCarthy said “those are the questions we're going to have to get answered as we go forward.”
“I’ve had and directed our Republican leaders in the three different committees to send a letter to the White House to secure those documents,” McCarthy said.
“We want the know the answers. Because, one, why would you close it down; two, why would you close it ahead before all the Americans are out.
“Why would you, in that place, harm not just our Americans still sitting there with the terrors, but future America and everywhere else?” he continued.
“And strategically when you're looking towards the future, the growth of China, the movement of Russia, Pakistan and others, why wouldn't we want to be able to have a situational awareness that we could be able to move planes out and others … from that strategic point.”
McCarthy said he wants members of Congress to be called back for a classified briefing on Afghanistan, lamenting that the Taliban has taken possession of “our weaponry” left behind.
“We should have the members of Congress back for another classified briefing before they bring our men and women out of there,” he said.
“We know from the State Department that there are thousands of ISIS-K people, terrorists that have now left the prison in Bagram. We are less safe today than we were in the places if you look before 9/11, because now they have our weaponry. Taliban now has more Black Hawk helicopters than Australia.”
“To allow the Taliban to dictate our foreign policy, to allow the State Department to run this instead of the military, these are mistakes, but these are answers that we're going of to hold people accountable for later because people have lost their lives,” McCarthy added.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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