Former Ambassador on Calls to Stick to Withdrawal Deadline: ‘That’s One Way to End a War – Surrender’

Former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker ripped the idea of the U.S. holding to President Joe Biden’s self-imposed August 31st deadline to withdraw troops from the country.

Crocker appeared on CNN with Jake Tapper after twelve U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans were killed in attacks outside the airport in Kabul. Another 15 service members were injured. According to CENTCOM Commander Kenneth McKenzie, ISIS-K, a branch of the Islamic State that operates in central Asia, was behind the attacks.

Tapper asked the former ambassador, “What do you say to the average American whose first response to the 12 service members being killed and 15 wounded is, it’s high time for us to get the hell out of there?”

Crocker’s response was blunt:

Well you know, that’s one way to end a war: surrender. It’s real quick, but the war is yet to come. This whole withdrawal announcement and process has been an enormous morale boost for Islamic radicals everywhere. Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Pakistani, Taliban, you name it. They are on a roll and they know it. And what happens in Afghanistan doesn’t stay in Afghanistan. We’ve seen that before.

Tapper asked about possible retaliation options against the perpetrators of the attacks.

“Clearly if we have an identifiable target that is ISIS-K, we should and would strike it,” said Crocker. “The problem is, of course, they have been an underground movement here to for and I don’t think we’ve got that kind of access.”

Crocker predicted, “At this point what he’s probably going to do is continue with the evacuation effort and stick to his August 31 deadline.”

Watch above via CNN

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