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Congressman Clay Higgins talks Afghanistan withdrawal

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — As U.S. troops continue to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul, lawmakers and other representatives have been weighing in.

Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA, 3rd District) spoke with News 10’s Neale Zeringue to weigh in on the situation.

Higgins said he’s shocked, but not surprised. He’s been a supporter of getting our troops out of Afghanistan for years. He said he believes the goal of crushing the Taliban threat was achieved, and that “ending civil wars that have been going on for 9,000 years is not realistic.”

He also said he thinks what could have happened instead is a condition-based withdrawal, which the Trump administration planned, to give the Taliban a voice in the local government once each soldier and ally had left the country.

“As a veteran myself, I share in the disillusionment that our gold star families and our veterans that left life and limb and shed blood in those sands have a right to be horrified of what we’re witnessing, which is a total collapse of leadership out of our White House, and the abandonment of our very own honor,” Higgins said.

Higgins also added that, for the first time, he’s calling for the vice president and president to resign. He also insists they should be impeached for the way they handled the withdrawal.