Sen. Lindsey Graham Lays Out The Three Things He Would Ask Blinken About ‘Biggest Blunder Since 9/11′ In Afghanistan’

Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham Monday outlined the three things he would ask Secretary of State Antony Blinken when the top Biden administration official faces questions about the Afghanistan withdrawal.

“The people that we took out of Afghanistan how many were vetted before they got on the plane, what are you going to do with them, how are you going to vet them now that we’ve got them?” Graham said, beginning the segment with “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade. Blinken is scheduled to appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Monday and Tuesday before Senate Foreign Relations. (RELATED: Former Green Beret Rep. Waltz: ‘Taliban Are … Pulling Out Young Boys And Killing Them’ To Eradicate Any Future Opposition)

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“Are you going to recognize the Taliban, are you going to give any aid to the Taliban, and how many people did we leave behind that helped us during the last 20 years?” the senator continued. “And how many Americans and their families are left behind?”

Graham argued that the most pressing question facing the Biden administration is how America deals with the Taliban. “Do you recognize them as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, if you do you set in motion a disaster throughout the world,” the senator claimed, noting that “they’re terrorists.” He also called the Afghanistan withdrawal the “biggest blunder since 9/11.”

Graham promised to introduce legislation that would establish the Taliban as “a foreign terrorist organization,” saying that he would “bleed the Taliban dry” and wait for a civil war to emerge in Afghanistan and then back those opposing them. Graham suggested it was essential to watch Afghanistan for any “rise in al-Qaida.”

The senator predicted that the Biden administration is “going to embrace the Taliban” and recognize the terrorist group as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, something he insisted will put “Americans all over the world at risk.” (RELATED: ‘ISIS Will Have An Opportunity To Grow’: Gen. Jack Keane Says Leaving Taliban In Control Of Afghanistan ‘Looms Heavy’ Over 9/11 Anniversary)

Refugees queue on the tarmac after disembarking from an evacuation flight from Kabul, at the Torrejon de Ardoz airbase, 30 km from Madrid, on Aug. 24, 2021.  (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images)

Graham remains a staunch advocate of a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and has said that if the U.S. abandons that country, it can expect another terrorist attack along the lines of 9/11.

The Senate Armed Services Committee has also invited Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley to attend an open hearing in order to answer questions about the Afghanistan withdrawal.

The Secretary of State’s testimony on the Afghanistan withdrawal follows his September 5-8 trip to Doha, Qatar and Ramstein, Germany. The State Department described the trip as a way for Blinken to thank American allies.