House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) warned on Sunday that a major threat to U.S. national security stems from President Biden’s mismanaged withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. In a CBS News interview on “Face The Nation,” McCaul discussed the heightened security risks at the U.S. border and the recent surge in arrests.
McCaul expressed his concerns over various border issues, including the influx of aggravated felons and fentanyl. However, he underscored a more pressing threat: ISIS-K militants who escaped from prisons during the fall of Afghanistan. These militants have since moved through the Khorasan region, encompassing Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, and entered the U.S. via Mexico.
“In addition to the aggravated felons and the fentanyl — and I can go on and on about that — what I worry most about is, look, you had the fall of Afghanistan. Thousands of ISIS-K came out of those prisons at Bagram, end up in a region called the Khorasan region, which is Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan,” McCaul stated. “They make their way over. They come through Mexico. And they enter into the United States. ISIS.”
McCaul highlighted that, although the FBI has apprehended eight ISIS members, the real concern lies in how many others might have successfully entered the country. He stressed that while the threat of ISIS infiltration was a significant worry during his tenure as Homeland Security Committee Chairman, it has now become a stark reality.
These remarks come as national security remains a top priority for many Americans, particularly in light of the ongoing issues at the southern border and the fallout from the Afghanistan withdrawal. McCaul’s comments underscore the complex and multifaceted challenges facing U.S. border security and national defense.
