US Senator Lindsey Graham has announced his support for a recent decision by the United States government to reduce its assistance to Afghanistan by $1 billion.
The decision by the US Department of State was made over the Afghan leaders "failure" to overcome a political impasse in the country.
"I totally support Secretary of State Pompeos decision to reduce $1 billion in US aid to Afghanistan," Graham said in a statement on March 24. "If the two major candidates for president are not able to work together to form a functioning government, all future aid should be reevaluated because youre throwing good money after bad."
He said that "without a functioning government, Afghanistan is becoming a hopeless cause. This is a terrible outcome for the people of Afghanistan, the United States, and the region. The only way to avoid this is for the two candidates to reconcile their differences quickly.
"I have been the strongest supporter of our continued presence in Afghanistan because I believe it is vital to US national security," Graham said. "However, if there is no political reconciliation soon, Afghanistan will be moving toward hopelessness. The day I believe we have reached that point, I will, with great sadness, say so."
Following the US announcement about the reduction in aid, Ashraf Ghani said that the cut will not harm key sectors in the country, but his rival Abdullah Abdullah on Thursday said that Afghan leaders should avoid speaking "irresponsibly."
SOURCE: Tolonews
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/15035
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