United and divided
2 CT politicos who served in Afghanistan assess the pullout
State Rep. Matt Blumenthal, a Democrat who represents parts of Darien and Stamford, and Alex Plitsas, chair of Fairfield’s Republican Town Committee, are unlikely to see eye-to-eye on most issues, though both served in military deployments in Afghanistan.
On this, at least, they agree: The United States must do more to safely evacuate its Afghan allies amid the Taliban takeover.
President Joe Biden is facing intense criticism for the chaos unfolding in Kabul, following his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the country, ending a nearly 20-year war.
Blumenthal and Plitsas, who deployed to Afghanistan around the same time, have watched in horror as the country has fallen to Taliban forces, and Afghans, who worked alongside U.S. forces during the war that has spanned four presidential administrations, plead for help.
“It’s really heartrending
to watch how everything has unfolded there and to know so many people who helped us and put themselves at risk alongside our troops and diplomats are in serious danger,” Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal, who served in the Marine Corps in Afghanistan in 2011, son of Connecticut’s senior U.S. senator, did not want to cast blame on Biden, saying the time will come to examine how the withdrawal was conducted.
“The important thing right now is for the administration to dedicate the will and resources necessary to get Americans, Afghans and our third country allies to safety,” he said in an interview Thursday.
“We’re still in the process of that mission and whether the mission is a success or failure will depend on the actions we take not just today, but in days to come,” he added.
Plitsas, like Blumenthal, supports Biden’s decision to pull out of Afghanistan, which followed a deal between former President Donald Trump and the Taliban to end the war and withdraw all U.S. forces by May 1, 2021.
But his support does not extend to how the process has unfolded. On his Twitter page, where Plitsas has amassed 19,000 followers as a conservative voice, he has harshly criticized Biden and the execution of the withdrawal. The evacuations
should have begun months ago, before the troop exits, Plitsas said in a phone interview last week from Italy, where he was on vacation.
He accused Biden of going “missing in action” as the disorder ensued, leaving for a long planned getaway to Camp David, before coming back to Washington 72 hours later. Plitsas also criticized the president for not answering reporters’ questions on the evacuation. Biden finally did so after a Friday briefing, where he continued to defend his decision.
Plitsas deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 as a defense civilian intelligence officer after serving in the Army in Iraq. He fears a repeat in Afghanistan of what happened in Iraq after then-President Barack Obama withdrew American
forces from the country in 2011, following through on an agreement made by his predecessor, former President George W. Bush, and shortly after the Islamic State seized power.
While Biden inherited America’s longest war, including the political calculations made by three of his predecessors, Plitsas said the president bears responsibility for “the actions he took unilaterally after taking office.” That includes his decision to grant a waiver earlier this year allowing the Pentagon to proceed with the withdrawal without providing a risk assessment to Congress, as legally required.
Blumenthal, on the other hand, said Biden’s hands were tied by the deal negotiated by Trump.
“I think the Trump administration