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In an interview with Chris Ryan,Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State and CIA Director for President Trump, criticizes how the Biden Administration has executed the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and discusses his own political ambitions and the reasons for his recent trip to New Hampshire.
Pompeo is very critical of President Biden’s August 31st address to the nation about the Afghan withdrawal.
“It was a set of remarks which were disconnected from what everyone can see with their own eyes. He claimed that this withdrawal was a big success. We all know that’s not the case.”
The former Secretary of State believes that the Biden Administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was flawed because they committed to a politically driven, arbitrary deadline of August 31st for the removal of our military forces without conditions being placed on the Taliban.
In addition, he believes that the withdrawal was poorly executed. As a result, Bagram Air Force Base with its valuable military equipment was lost, Afghanistan was overrun by the Taliban in a matter of days, thirteen American servicemembers were tragically killed in a suicide bombing, and many Americans are left behind.
Pompeo describes how the Trump Administration would have withdrawn differently. There would have been a continuation of a steady, gradual decline of US troops based on conditions on the ground. He claims that the Taliban knew that if they attacked American forces that there would be serious repercussions while Trump was president.
There has been criticism of Secretary Pompeo for meeting with the Taliban because it gave credibility to a group of terrorists. Pompeo defends his actions by listing the many groups in Afghanistan which he met with in his attempts to negotiate a peaceful settlement before we left after twenty years of war and attempted nation building.
Many believe that Mike Pompeo has presidential aspirations and speculate whether pictures of him with the founder of the Taliban, Abdul Ghani Baradar, might came back to haunt him.
Pompeo is unbothered by the accusations and claims that as Secretary of State he had to meet with lots of unsavory world leaders in order to meet with our adversaries in order to protect the interests of the American people.
Pompeo is worried that the Biden Administration will recognize the Taliban as the rightful leaders of Afghanistan and will pay them ransom in the form of foreign aid to get out the Americans who have been left behind.
“We would never have done that. We made it clear to the Taliban that we were going to impose costs, not provide them resources.”
Mike Pompeo, who graduated first in his class from West Point in 1986, recognizes the veterans who served in Afghanistan and believes that their sacrifices were not in vain.
Pompeo, a former Congressman, CIA Director, and Secretary of State explains that he has been in the Granite State to advance the cause of school choice and the candidacy of Linda Camarota, the Republican candidate in a special New Hampshire House election, representing Bedford, which will be held Sept. 7.
When he was asked if he was going to be a presidential candidate in 2024 even if Donald Trump is running, Pompeo stated that he is presently focused on his Political Action Committee, the Champion American Values PAC, and its immediate goal of regaining control of Congress for Republican candidates.
“What happens in 2024, I think is hard to know.”