[Athos]

Starting in 2019, Trump began undermining our operations in Afghanistan.

That began with an invitation to the Taliban to a private meeting at Camp David on the anniversary of 9/11. That meeting was changed after outrage from both sides of the aisle. Nevertheless, Trump insisted on meeting with Taliban leaders outside the presence of the legitimate Afghan government, and negotiated with the Taliban rather than Afghan leaders about the future of the country after the American withdrawal.

Trump promised and secured the release of 5,000 Taliban terrorists being held prisoner in Afghanistan including more than 150 that had been sentenced to death, 44 who were known to be involved in high profile attacks against US forces, and the mastermind of the deadliest attack of the entire occupation

Then he committed to a withdrawal date about 100 days after he knew he’d be out of office.

A few days after he was determined to have lost his re-election bid, he announced that before leaving office he would reduce our troop presence to its lowest of the entire occupation. This drew so much criticism from all sides that Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which in part barred the removal of any troops from Afghanistan prior to Inauguration Day. Trump vetoed this bill, and his veto was easily overridden even as his own party controlled the Senate at the time. Then five days before leaving office, he illegally withdrew the troops anyway in knowing violation of the law.

[tomder55]

Congress had no power to decide troop strength . Congress can fund or cut funds and declare war . The President is CIC according to the Constitution.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 1:
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; US withdrawal was part of the Doha agreement between the US and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Discussions with the Taliban was by necessity a part of the process to achieve a peaceful reduction of NATO forces .

The chaotic abandonment of our commitment to the Islamic Republic ;and the eventual overthrow of the government by the Taliban is all on Clueless Joe.

[tomder55]

Just got a change to read the relevant section of the NDAA for 2020 .(sec1215 (d) )

Section 1215 Afghanistan FY21 NDAA .pdf (dropbox.com)

It essentially cut off funds for withdrawal by the President unless certain measures were achieved.

Those included :

An assessment that the withdrawal will not impede our counterterrorism mission against ISIS, al-Qaeda, and associated forces, or endanger our national security.

An assessment of the risk the withdrawal poses to United States personnel in Afghanistan.

An assessment of the risk that Afghanistan will again become a terrorist safe haven following U.S. withdrawal.

An assessment of the threat posed by the Taliban and other terrorist organizations in
Afghanistan to U.S. national security interests and to those of U.S. partners and allies.

An assessment of the effects the withdrawal will have on the NATO-led training mission and the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces’ ability to effectively defend against terrorist attacks and sustain their operations.

Before Cluless cut and ran ;a letter was sent to Sec Defense Austin to ask specifically about the progress of each of the items listed . The Undersecretary of Defense for Policy responded with a letter stating that the Administration had elected to “waive” the requirements under “national security” grounds and was proceeding with the withdrawal without providing the required notice or certifications.

2021-5-25- Section 1215 Letter Signed.pdf (dropbox.com)

Rep. Bacon Section 1215 letter response (dtd 22 June 2021).pdf (dropbox.com)