Sen. Ernst sounds alarm on threats to homeland after Afghanistan exit

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernest (R-IA) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require military and intelligence agencies to monitor the threat from terrorist organizations that could result from the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

Ernst, a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the legislation was necessary after the Biden Administration’s move to pull out of Afghanistan, which she felt could threaten U.S. security.

“From the beginning, President Biden’s decision to haphazardly withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, with no real plan of how to do so, was not a sound foreign policy move; it was a clear, callous political message,” Ernst said. “The American people know that what happens over a continent away can have a direct impact on their security and safety here at home, which is why we must be clear-eyed about the potential for Afghanistan to be used as a base of operation for international terrorism after Biden’s rushed exit. This legislation makes sure our nation’s military, intelligence, and homeland security departments closely monitor terror activity in the region resulting from this withdrawal and fully assess the risk to our homeland.”

Ernst’s bill, Preventing Terrorism from Hitting America’s Streets Act, would require U.S. military, intelligence, and homeland security branches to look at the increased risk the withdrawal from Afghanistan poses to America, as well as requiring officials to analyze and explain to Congress what illicit activities are being conducted at America’s southern border by terrorist groups and other adversaries.

The bill would also require the agencies to assess whether or not Afghanistan could be used as a base of operations for international terrorism due to the American troop withdrawal.