Lindsey Graham said 'we set the conditions for another 9/11' by pulling US troops out of Afghanistan

Lindsey Graham warned that the US is at risk of "another 9/11" terrorist attack.

Alex Edelman/AP

• Sen. Lindsey Graham said the chances of another 9/11 terror attack "just went through the roof".
• He criticized President Biden withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, saying he should be impeached.
• Graham, speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation", also warned against legitimizing the Taliban as a governing body.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Sen. Lindsey Graham criticized President Joe Biden for withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, saying the likelihood of another terrorist attack like the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks "just went through the roof."

"We're leaving thousands of Afghan allies behind who fought bravely with us. We're gonna leave hundreds of American citizens behind. The chance of another 9/11 just went through the roof," Graham said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation."

The South Carolina Republican added that he would not have withdrawn forces in the first place, instead opting to maintain a presence in Afghanistan working with "indigenous forces."

"These drone attacks will not degrade ISIS. The number of ISIS fighters have doubled. We've turned our back on our allies... And we set the conditions for another 9/11," Graham said. "I've never been more worried about an attack on our homeland than I am right now."

A deal the Trump administration brokered in February 2020 formed the basis for Biden's withdrawal, which he announced in April.

The critiques come as the US military conducted a drone strike against a suicide car bomber linked to ISIS-K on Sunday. The terrorist group claimed responsibility for last week's explosion at the Kabul airport that killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US service members.

-Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 29, 2021

Read more: How Americans who helped prosecute the Taliban are going down a 'black hole' to help their Afghan interpreters

Graham doubled down on his critique of Biden, saying future presidents will have to grapple with his actions.

"For the next 20 years, American presidents will be dealing with this catastrophe in Afghanistan," he said on CBS. "This war has not ended. We've entered into a new deadly chapter. Terrorists are now in charge of Afghanistan."

Graham added Biden shouldn't recognize the Taliban as a legitimate governing body of Afghanistan because it would encourage other terrorist organizations to follow the Taliban's lead.

"Do not legitimize the Taliban. Do not recognize them because if you do, you're going to put Americans at risk all over the world because other terrorist organizations will say how the best way to get America's attention and legitimacy is to kidnap some Americans or people who fought with America," he said.

Graham added that he believes Biden should be impeached for "dereliction of duty".

As the US scrambles to finish evacuating citizens and Afghan allies from Kabul before Tuesday's deadline to pull out troops, politicians in Washington keep pointing fingers at who they think is to blame for the crisis.

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