Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Gardner cautions revisionist history

Colo. senator back from Middle East
Gardner

Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., made a forceful call for the United States to refrain from making the same mistakes with its troop withdrawal in Afghanistan that he believes it made with Iraq.

A member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gardner recently returned from a weeklong Congressional Delegation to several countries in the Middle East.

Gardner said there was unanimity among Iraqi officials he met with that it was a mistake to handle withdrawal the way it was handled. He pointed to the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq, which began a conquest of several of Iraq’s cities in 2014.

“It became clear that if what was done in Afghanistan is done with Iraq, we would lose our intelligence networks, and the Afghan people won’t be able to defend themselves,” Gardner told reporters Monday in a conference call.

Gardner said Afghanistan has made “incredible strides” over the last 14 years, including in economic opportunities, literacy and life expectancy, and that it would be a shame to see that progress go to waste.

He lauded the Obama administration’s decision to slow the drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan to maintain a force of 9,800 through the end of 2015.

“I commend administration for the decision made with Afghanistan,” Gardner said. “It is a step in the right direction, and the administration deserves credit for that.”

Gardner also applauded the recent news of the Iraqi forces retaking the city of Tikrit with the assistance of U.S.-led airstrikes. The city of 260,000 people had been under IS control since June.

“This is a sign that our pushback is working,” Gardner said.

The Colorado senator also discussed the Obama administration’s agreement with Iran for curbing the country’s nuclear capabilities. Gardner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who believes the agreement is dangerous for his country because he says it allows Iran to keep its nuclear infrastructure.

“The key takeaway from Netanyahu was that Iran needs this deal more than the U.S. does,” Gardner said. “A deal just for the sake of a deal is not a good deal. We are in a superior position to demand the best deal possible because of economic sanctions in Iran.”

Gardner agreed with Netanyahu’s assessment, pointing to Iran being allowed to continue research and development, along with lifting economic sanctions.

“There is no sense in making a bad deal for a deal,” Gardner said. “It needs Congressional approval.

“If we lift these sanctions, their economy is going to start receiving money, which they can start providing to state-funded terrorism.”

Michael Cipriano is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.



Reader Comments