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Donald Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House on November 13
Image: Reuters
The Republican Majority Leader in the Senate has avoided criticizing Trump since the election. But now Mitch McConnell has contradicted the president.
METERMcConnell itch has now contradicted Donald Trump. For two weeks he struggled to say something that revealed distance from the president. The intervention of the Republican Majority Leader in the Senate, however, had nothing to do with November 3 and the recognition of Joe Biden’s electoral victory. At least not directly. When it emerged Monday that the outgoing president intended to reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq by January, McConnell voiced his criticism: All wars have to end at some point, and the president has certain successes to prove. A “quick retreat” “would harm our allies and would please the people who want to harm us.” Trump wants to reduce the number of soldiers to about 2,500 each, as the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Majid sattar
Political Correspondent for North America based in Washington.
The consequences of a “hasty withdrawal” from Afghanistan, for example, would likely be worse than Barack Obama’s 2011 withdrawal order from Iraq, Senator McConnell said. Such a move would bring the Islamists a “great propaganda victory” and would be “a symbol of the defeat and humiliation of the United States.” Iran would be happy about that, said McConnell, who also didn’t forget to mention the meritorious work of former Defense Secretary James Mattis and Mark Esper.
