Two House Republicans who served in the country’s so-called “Forever Wars” in the Middle East say President Joe Biden’s push to pursue his predecessor’s withdrawal of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan is something they can rally behind.
Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, a U.S. Army veteran who lost both his legs while deployed in Afghanistan, said the withdrawal of troops is “probably the biggest area of agreement” Republicans will have with the Biden administration on foreign policy.
“When President Trump wanted to move out of there, I agreed with it. And I still agree now that President Biden wants to move out of there. Beyond that, I’d be hard-pressed to find another area, especially as it relates to something with international relations, that we find common ground on,” Mast, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
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Rep. Greg Steube, an Iraq War veteran from Florida, agreed that Biden’s plans to withdraw troops is likely the No. 1 issue on which he agrees with the Democratic administration.
Steube, who has been vocal about his support to withdraw troops as soon as possible, added that there’s a stark difference in opinion between those who have served in the military and those who have not.
“You have several different factions within the Republican Party that have a different view. And taking, say, a Bush-era view to safety and security, having troops stationed all over the world, so we can react really quickly. In today’s world and today’s military environment, we have the capability to strike anywhere in the world in very short order,” Steube told the Washington Examiner.
Former President Donald Trump’s administration negotiated a May 1 exit deadline with the Taliban last year. Biden announced last month that his plan is to withdraw remaining U.S. troops by Sept. 11, which would mark the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks that led to former President George W. Bush‘s “war on terror.”
Biden declared it was “time to end America’s longest war,” which was a move that received the rare praise of Trump, who called Biden’s efforts a “wonderful and positive thing to do,” though he felt the deadline should be sooner than September.
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An estimated 3,500 U.S. troops are serving in Afghanistan, according to the New York Times.
