U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, to call on the Biden administration to not recognize the Taliban’s rule of Afghanistan.
Waltz, the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, served in Afghanistan and was an aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney.
At the end of last week, Graham and Waltz released a joint statement.
“After speaking with Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh and representatives of Ahmad Massoud, we are calling on the Biden administration to recognize these leaders as the legitimate government representatives of Afghanistan. We ask the Biden administration to recognize that the Afghan Constitution is still intact, and the Afghan Taliban takeover is illegal,” they said.
“These leaders chose to stay and fight for the freedoms of the Afghan people and oppose extremism. They have established a safe haven in the Panjshir Valley for Americans left behind, our allies, and those seeking freedom from Afghan Taliban rule. They will also be on the front lines in the fight against global Islamic extremism, which will continue to plot attacks against the West in the wake of our withdrawal from the region,” they added.
“We call on President Biden to designate the Afghan Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and we urge him to publicly support congressional efforts to stand with our friends in the Panjshir Valley who will serve as a bulwark against regional terror,” Graham and Waltz said in conclusion.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com
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