CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., says Americans are at greater risk now that the Taliban has taken control of Afghanistan.
“We have allowed, basically, the Taliban the opportunity to create a haven for terrorists, ISIS, al-Qaida, they’re all going to flock there and train up,” Green said. “This is going to come back to haunt us, especially with a southern border that’s wide open.”
Green served in Afghanistan and Iraq. He believes the U.S. should have left a little bit of force in the country.
“It’s way better than what we have now with the failed state,” Green said. “So that middle course would be much safer for the United States of America.”
Green says he will soon be publishing an op-ed suggesting the U.S. put an “over the horizon force” in Northwest India.
“You got nukes in Pakistan, you got nukes in India and of course, we got our strategic competitor there in China,” Green said. “It’s a mess.”
Since the Taliban took control, Green says his conversations with service members who fought in Afghanistan have been disheartening.
“I’m hearing from people who were already struggling with the unseen wounds of war, PTSD, things like that, that are calling, struggling with whether or not there was value to their sacrifice,” Green said. “I would just tell every one of them, ‘absolutely.’ For 20 years, that service in Afghanistan, those men and women who sacrificed there were providing freedom from terrorist attacks here in the United States.”
He says anyone struggling can call his office or REBOOT Recovery.
“Your service was valuable,” Green said. “Never forget that.”