Rep. Fleischmann to Newsmax: US Must Do 'Everything Possible' to Curb Taliban

The United States must stay strong against the Taliban as reports grow concerning their behavior after the military was pulled out of Afghanistan last week, but the Biden administration has "capitulated time and time again" and continues to try to change the narrative about what is happening, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said on Newsmax Monday.

"The Taliban, unfortunately, has complete, at least military, control over Afghanistan," the Tennessee Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "That's troubling. The Taliban, by their very nature, are troubling."

The main problem, he said, is that the Taliban is keeping planes with Americans from leaving the country, and the United States must be strong in the resolve to stand up against that.

"The narrative can't be changed," Fleischmann said. "It's bad. It's getting worse. We've got to do everything possible and in my role, I want to make sure we protect our homeland. I'm the ranking member, the highest Republican on the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, we've got to keep the American homeland safe."

Meanwhile, 20 years ago, just after the 9/11 attacks, then-President George W. Bush said the United States will not make a distinction between terrorists and nations that harm terrorists, but Fleischmann said that call is not holding true today.

"Obviously, ISIS-K is a terrorist organization," said Fleischmann. "The Taliban has had a better relationship with al-Qaida, another terrorist organization, these two terrorist organizations are combating one another. The sad part about it is that they have a common enemy. They do not like us, and we have to view the whole region right now as a potential hotbed for training terrorists."

There will also be human rights violations, he warned, but "our first and foremost duty is to get the American citizens out."

The Taliban is also stronger financially than it was 20 years ago, said Fleischmann.

"We have left the Taliban with billions of dollars in American armaments," he said. "We have left them with billions of dollars of American cash ... they are dangerous, so we have got to stand up as Americans. We've got to force the Biden administration to do what they've been unwilling to do and start taking a very pro-American stance."

Allies worldwide are looking to the United States to start leading again as it did under former President Donald Trump, said Fleischmann.

"We said we're going to have an American foreign policy, not a European foreign policy, not a global foreign policy," said Fleischmann. "We're going to put America first right now for the security of this nation ... we need to be loud and clear in our resolve as the American people and say we are going to do everything possible to get you out and get you out safely. More importantly, I think we need to tell the Taliban and anyone who would seek to try to even do them harm that there will be repercussions. Not Biden's empty rhetoric or change of a narrative but real repercussions from the United States militarily, if necessary, if they harm American citizens."

It is the nation's constitutional, legal, and moral duty to protect American citizens, and "that's not happening," Fleischmann added. "We don't have good intelligence on the ground. We really don't have much of a presence on the ground. We've got to rectify this and rectify it quickly."

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