A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee recently determined that phenylephrine, an ingredient commonly used to treat sinus and nasal congestion, is ineffective in treating these symptoms. This was apparent from research for years, yet large...
El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio (R-FL) habló con César Grajales de La Poderosa 670 AM en El Panorama Político, sobre la crisis fronteriza, sobre cómo los hispanoamericanos se ven afectados con la realidad del país, sobre los cargos contra el senador Bob Menéndez...
Pregnant students are sometimes discriminated against by their schools, either intentionally or unintentionally and there is a concerning lack of awareness about the resources and rights available to them. Due to a lack of services and discrimination, these women may...
Currently, intelligence community civilians are subject to certain tax penalties for job-related relocation requirements, but active-duty military servicemembers are not subjected to the same penalties. These tax benefits, including the ability to deduct moving...
Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Marco Rubio (R-FL) delivered opening remarks and questioned witnesses at a hearing on countering China’s influence in the United States. Watch Rubio’s opening remarks here as well as Part I and Part II of...
Approximately 302,000 Americans live with spinal cord injuries. To help these people achieve a better quality of life, there is a need to increase education and invest in research. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) successfully led a bipartisan...
Bring Our Troops Home — the Right Way
By U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
November 19, 2020
National Review
The continued presence of U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan cannot persist forever.
Our 5,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan constitute less than 5 percent of the Obama-era surge. As that number continues to come down, it must be done the right way.
Trump administration officials have announced that, within the next two months, the number of troops we have there will drop to 2,500.
The threats facing our nation and our allies from those who wish to do us harm are real. If we prematurely pull our U.S. forces out from Afghanistan — or if we conduct the process too quickly — we risk putting our servicemembers in harm’s way, and the actual Afghan government will collapse in short order. They are already struggling to hold on as it is, given the threat and challenge from the Taliban.
Another serious concern is that if U.S. forces are pulled out without proper planning, American weapons and other equipment will make it into the hands of the Taliban or another enemy of our nation, putting everyone at even more risk. I don’t want to read a headline six months from now that the Taliban or al-Qaeda are driving around in armored vehicles that we left behind because we exited in a hurry.
Finally, there must be a plan for continuing to pursue al-Qaeda leaders hiding in Afghanistan or elsewhere in the region. No withdrawal plan will be sufficient if we do not retain the ability to go get them, stop them, disrupt them, capture them, or eliminate them. No matter what happens in Afghanistan, we cannot sacrifice that capacity.
America’s involvement in the conflict in Afghanistan will come to an end. But a hasty exit risks putting American and Afghan lives alike in danger, which could draw us back into yet another prolonged engagement. We need to bring our troops home, but we need to do it the right way.