Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), the only member of Congress to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001 joint resolution under which U.S. forces would invade Afghanistan, reflects on the fallout in the wake of a chaotic withdrawal nearly 20 years later.
“Our troops have done everything we’ve asked them to do. They’ve been exemplary; 2,400 lost their lives. So many have long term, life-long injuries now. So our troops need to be taken out of harm’s way,” Rep. Lee told KTLA.
Remarking on images of desperate Afghans clinging to a U.S. military plane and handing an infant to U.S. troops over barbed wire, she said, “These images are horrific and no one said this was going to be easy.”
“There’s got to be a deep dive and our oversight committees will be looking at everything that took place,” Lee continued. “But you can’t tell me that having our troops there for another 10, 20 years was going to solve this historic problem in Afghanistan. You can’t nation-build and everyone knows there’s no military solution in Afghanistan.”
This segment aired on the KTLA 5 Weekend Morning News on Aug. 22, 2021.