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“I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States,” Rep. Barbara Lee of California said in 2001 following the September 11 attack. “This is a very complex and complicated matter,” she added in her remarks at the time.
Rep. Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the war in Afghanistan 20 years ago. Now, Lee’s words and lone vote are trending online as American troops leave the country and Taliban forces overtake the capital city of Kabul.
“However difficult this vote may be … Let’s just pause, just for a minute and think through the implications of our actions today, so that this does not spiral out of control,” Lee said in a now resurfaced clip of Congress’ vote on the war in 2001.
Lee's warning some two decades ago eerily predicted the current situation in Afghanistan.
"Finally, we must be careful not to embark on an open-ended war with neither an exit strategy nor a focused target," she said in her statement at the time.
Twitter users are now uplifting the congresswoman's words and stance on the issue in the face of the current crisis.
As the Democrat’s words ring out online, the lawmaker spoke out Tuesday (August 17), following the fall of Kabul.
“This demonstrates that there’s unfortunately no military solution to the problems in Afghanistan. But, right now I’m really focused on how we can support the efforts to make sure that everyone is evacuated safely,” she said in an interview with NBC News.
In a speech on Monday (August 16), President Joe Biden "stood firm" on his decision to withdraw troops from the area, though he admitted the take over seen by Taliban forces was a lot quicker than the administration had expected.
The initiation to withdraw troops from Afghanistan began under Donald Trump who bragged about his efforts two months ago, but called for Biden to "resign in disgrace" in the aftermath.
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