Mike Pence slams Biden over handling of Afghanistan withdrawal: 'What a disgrace'
Pope Francis expresses opposition to US policy of spreading democracy; Johnnie Moore slams Biden’s collaboration with Taliban
CBS News reported Wednesday that in an interview with Spanish radio, Pope Francis described the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as “legitimate” but expressed his opinion that “not all eventualities were taken into account here.”
"I don't know whether there will be a review or not, but certainly there was a lot of deception, perhaps, on the part of the new authorities [of Afghanistan]. I say deceit, or a lot of naiveté — I don't understand," Francis said.
The pontiff recited a quote he attributed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, indicating that while he did not necessarily approve of the execution of the Afghanistan withdrawal, he agreed with Biden that the foreign policy strategy of nation-building should be abandoned.
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“‘It is necessary to put an end to the irresponsible policy of intervening from outside and building democracy in other countries, ignoring the traditions of the peoples.’ Concise and conclusive,” he said. The leader of the Catholic Church was not the only religious figure to express some degree of unease about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders and former United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Commissioner, slammed Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of the U.S. Central Command, for vowing to “coordinate” with the Taliban in an Aug. 26 press conference following an explosion at the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul that killed 10 U.S. Marines, two U.S. Army soldiers, one Navy Corpsman and some 170 Afghan civilians.
“The commander of U.S. Central Command described an alarming amount & type of coordination with the Taliban during today’s Pentagon press conference. Democrats and Republicans in Congress need to put their partisanship aside & DEMAND answers & action,” he proclaimed in an Aug. 26 tweet.
The commander of U.S. Central Command described an alarming amount & type of coordination with the Taliban during today's Pentagon press conference.
— Rev. Johnnie Moore ? (@JohnnieM) August 26, 2021
Democrats and Republicans in Congress need to put their partisanship aside & DEMAND answers & action.
In another tweet, Moore reacted to a report that “U.S. officials gave the Taliban a list of names of U.S. citizens, green card holders & Afghan allies to grant entry into the outer perimeter of the city’s airport.” He described the actions of the U.S. government as “unconscionable.”
On Monday, Moore discussed how “videos are circulating of the Taliban flying a US made Black Hawk helicopter in Kandahar.” After lamenting that “they have more of them now than Australia along w/ countless other advanced U.S. equipment,” he asked, “Why didn’t @CENTCOM take out what they could and destroy the rest?”
Moore responded to a report detailing that the Biden administration destroyed and left behind the wreckage of some military equipment. He called the destruction of the military equipment “Good & also not good enough.” The religious leader also issued a call to prayer for “the Americans & thousands of threatened, minority communities who have been left behind in Afghanistan.”
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
