NOTICIAS

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a member of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on the White House announcement regarding talks with the Taliban:

“I am very concerned that the Obama Administration has agreed to direct talks with the Taliban despite little indication that the Taliban is serious about cutting its ties to al Qaeda, renouncing terrorism, or respecting the Afghan government and constitution.  Afghanistan’s future stability will only be ensured if the Taliban and other affiliated groups decide to abide by the Afghan constitution, including its protections for the rights of women and minorities, and operate within the Afghan political system.

“This administration’s shifting timelines and goalposts in Afghanistan have only served to give those who wish to take Afghanistan back to the days of brutal violence and chaos hope that they will be able to wait us out.  Over more than eleven years, America has invested much in this conflict, with our brave men and women in uniform bearing most of the burden.  This decision to begin direct talks empowers the extremists who are trying to undermine all that the United States and our Afghan and international partners have achieved.”