US Senator Lindsey Graham in a tweet suggested President Donald Trump to “learn from President Obama’s mistakes” and take his time while making a deal with the Taliban.
Mr. Trump is expected to meet his national security team on Friday to discuss Afghanistan and peace plan with the Taliban, according to US news agencies.
Mr. Graham said that “a bad agreement puts the radical Islamist movement all over the world on steroids”.
He suggested Trump listen to his national security team.
“American soldiers in Afghanistan are not acting as policemen,” Mr. Graham said, referring to Mr. Trump’s repeated comments on US forces presence in Afghanistan.
“They [US forces] are the front-line defense for America against the reemergence of radical Islamist groups who wish to attack the American homeland,” Mr. Graham added.
He said that to trust the Taliban to control al-Qaeda, ISIS (Daesh), and other radical Islamist groups present in Afghanistan – as a replacement for a US counter-terrorism force – would be a “bigger mistake than Obama’s Iranian nuclear deal”.
He further said that any peace agreement which denies the US robust counter-terrorism capability in Afghanistan is not a peace deal.
“Any agreement which denies the US the ability to have a meaningful counter-terrorism force capability – based on conditions on the ground for as long as needed – is a recipe for disaster,” Mr. Graham said.
“Instead, it is paving the way for another attack on the American homeland and attacks against American interests around the world,” Mr. Graham cautioned.
He said he looks forward to having congressional hearings and reviewing, debating, and voting on any proposed peace agreement with the Taliban that affects America’s future presence in Afghanistan.
Mr. Graham concluded “it is very important that any agreement be fully vetted and understood by Congress and the American people”.
