OPINION:
President Joe Biden hasn’t mentioned Afghanistan since he turned the phased, conditional withdrawal under the Trump administration into an unconditional surrender to the Taliban. Nor has he yet found the time to see the chaos his policies have produced by collapsing our southern border.
Yet putting these things out of sight and mind doesn’t change the dangers they have unleashed. Together, they pose a terrifying prospect for our country that Americans should prepare themselves to face in the coming days.
Former President Donald Trump never intended to relinquish Bagram Air Base. This strategic America asset assured that U.S. airpower could be projected throughout the region as a bulwark to support the Afghan defense forces and a deterrent to the extremist regimes throughout the Middle East. In addition, Bagram included the Parwan Detention Facility that held, under Afghan control, between 5,000 and 7,000 hardened terrorists.
Instead, Mr. Biden ordered – and his woke generals executed – a surprise abandonment of Bagram in the dead of night without notifying our allies. It took the Afghan government by complete surprise and set off a shock wave that resulted in the rapid collapse of the Afghan forces. In turn, this meant not only the loss of billions of dollars of U.S. military equipment to the very forces that attacked us on 9/11 but also the release of the most dangerous terrorists in the world.
We know where one of those terrorists went. Ten days later, Abdul Rehman detonated a bomb at the airport in Kabul, killing 13 of our servicemen and women. We don’t know where the thousands of other terrorists are released from Bagram or what plans they are pursuing.
It’s a very good bet that more than a few of them are making their way right now to our open southern border. We know the Border Patrol has intercepted a number of known terrorists already. The government of Panama told Congressman Gonzales of Texas that it intercepted 52 known terrorists with intent to make their way to the United States and tried in vain to warn the Biden administration.
We don’t know how many have already infiltrated our country among the tens of thousands admitted by the Biden administration since the surrender of Bagram. We don’t know how many more are among the “got-aways” who evaded the Border Patrol while it has been overwhelmed processing the masses who have responded to Biden’s open border invitation.
Nor do we know how many radicalized Taliban or ISIS-K are among the nearly 100,000 evacuees admitted to the United States from Afghanistan. The Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, informed Congress recently that it is not necessary for them to show they assisted U.S. forces, but only that we don’t know of any hostile actions they committed against us. In other words, if we don’t know who they are or what they plan, that is sufficient to award them permanent legal residence in the United States.
America should brace itself for what is surely coming.
Suppose these terrorists, unleashed because of Mr. Biden’s Afghanistan policy, can make their way into our country because of his border policy. In that case, I am afraid that the price paid by innocent Americans will be horrendous. The mass bombings we read about in other countries may soon arrive on our shores. If they do, the responsibility will rest squarely with Mr. Biden, his administration, and apologists in public office and the press.
On October 14th, I requested Mr. Mayorkas to provide the number of foreign nationals encountered on our southern border by nationality, the number that were in the Terrorist Screening Database, and whether any were imprisoned at Bagram Air Base. As of this date, we have received no response.
Mr. President, wake up! This terror is coming. For all, we know it is already on its way. For all we know, it is already here. For God’s sake, secure our border, start faithfully executing our immigration laws, fully vet any asylum claims or refugees before they are admitted into our country. Or else, be prepared to bear the full condemnation of history for the terrors you will have set in motion against your country and your countrymen, betraying the highest trust in the land.
• Congressman Tom McClintock represents California’s 4th Congressional District.
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