On July 21, 2020, the House of Representatives decisively rejected an amendment that would outline a withdrawal plan in Afghanistan. Antiwar.com reported that a “slight plurality of Democrats supported the measure, with most of the leadership opposing.” Nearly all Republicans except two voted to oppose the amendment. Libertarian Justin Amash backed the measure. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar introduced the amendment to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In late May, President Donald Trump announced that he wanted to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan before his election day in November. Since then, Democrats have grown hawkish and have done everything in their power to roadblock Trump.
Most of this opposition to Trump is based on petty partisanship and a much larger political consensus that has dominated D.C. regarding military adventures abroad.
The American government has had a presence in Afghanistan for over 19 years and the country has not become a Jeffersonian Democracy like many Afghanistan boosters have promised.
If Trump is truly America First, he would give the interventionist Congress the middle finger by withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. He is the commander-in-chief, after all.
