Barbara Lee, Only Member of Congress to Vote Against Afghanistan in 2001, Wants U.S. To Learn from Mistakes

Representative Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who was the lone subordinate of Congress to ballot against the warfare successful Afghanistan successful 2001, says the United States indispensable larn from its mistakes and reconsider the president’s quality to power troops moving forward.

“Congress has a work to statement and authorize the usage of force. We don’t springiness it to presidents conscionable to usage successful perpetuity and that’s what happened,” she told CNN earlier today. “I knew past that there’s no military solution in Afghanistan. You person to recognize the history determination and truthful we can’t nation-build.”

Lee added that she supports President Joe Biden’s determination to retreat and stressed that nary 1 expected the Taliban to consolidate its powerfulness truthful quickly.

“This is simply a precise dire concern successful galore ways, it’s an emergency. “We person to usage each instrumentality we person to guarantee their safety. It has to beryllium orderly,” she said.

She added: “Our troops did everything we asked them to do. They accomplished their goals and their mission. Why successful the satellite would we let immoderate president to support our brave troops successful harm’s mode for this agelong is mind-boggling.”

Lee has besides spoken retired connected Twitter, saying that the radical of Afghanistan “are facing a unspeakable tragedy.”

“We person a motivation work to guarantee the information and information of Americans, American allies, and Afghans who stood by us,” she said. “We person nary enactment but to usage each assets astatine our disposal to evacuate radical retired of harms [sic] way.”

You tin ticker the code Lee gave successful 2001 successful the video below.