Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI) argued that President Joe Biden made “the best of many poor choices” by moving ahead with the plan to withdraw U.S. military forces from Afghanistan.
NBC’s Chuck Todd interviewed Reed on Sunday for Meet The Press, which he began by asking the senator if he agrees with The Economist’s headline “America’s war in Afghanistan is ending in crushing defeat.” Reed said the headline was “not accurate,” arguing that “the job is not over.”
“This is not a closure. This is a transition,” Reed said. “We have to maintain continual involvement both with the Afghan government by supporting them financially. Also providing the kind of technical assistance they need for their air force and other elements.”
Reed continued by saying Biden had a “bad series of choices” in front of him, one being that the Trump administration said the U.S. would withdraw from Afghanistan in May while the Taliban “had no real responsibilities in that agreement.” He assessed that given everything else, Biden “made a difficult, but the best of many poor choices.”
The interview continued with Reed being asked if he made an “empty promise” years ago when he swore that the U.S. would stay in Afghanistan for an indefinite period of time. He was also asked if he thinks Kabul will hold
Watch above, via NBC.