|
 |
 |
|
GOP lawmaker rejects Obama assertion that Taliban momentum is broken
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) on Wednesday rejected President Obama’s assertion that his administration has ended the Taliban’s momentum.
Obama opened his State of the Union address on Tuesday night by saying that Osama bin Laden was no longer a threat, that most of al Qaeda’s lieutenants had been defeated and that the Taliban’s momentum had been broken.
“I disagree to this extent,” King said on the House floor. “The Taliban’s momentum has shifted from military tactical to political. They have a lot of political momentum — it’s not been broken. The political momentum has accelerated.”
“The Taliban’s momentum has not been broken, it’s been transitioned into political power,” King said. “And they are looking today to hand political power over to the Taliban in Afghanistan so that the Afghanistan government will reflect the wishes of the Taliban, and less reflect the wishes of the Northern Alliance.”
King is one of several House members who earlier this month met with members of the Northern Alliance, and called on the administration to ensure that Afghanistan’s government does not come under the control of the Taliban.
