Just a few days after the attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, almost 20 years ago, a single voice in Congress warned against going to war in Afghanistan.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland casted the only vote against an open-ended war authorization for then-president George W Bush.
Now, Lee is backing President Joe Biden's decision to pull U.S. forces out of Afghanistan. She said it's courageous to make such a difficult decision.
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Lee, like so many others said she is surprised by the speed that the Taliban has been able to sweep through Afghanistan.
"This is something that unfortunately demonstrates that there's no military solutions to the problems in Afghanistan,” she said. “But right now, I’m really focused on how we can support the efforts to make sure that everyone is evacuated to safety."
Lee currently serves on the congressional committee responsible for overseeing and funding United States humanitarian efforts for those Afghan nationals, who have served as translators and other aids to U.S. forces over the last 20 years and are now being evacuated.
Video of smoke coming from the U.S. Embassy Complex and a series of helicopters touching down and taking off have garnered lots of attention Sunday.
Al Jazeera aired video of Taliban militia men overtake the Afghanistan presidential palace.
Lee said her biggest concern is for the women and young girls who were able to enjoy some security and freedom to go to school over the last two decades.
She was also quick to defend President Biden from attacks being made by Republican leaders.
Lee said Biden is simply carrying out a process former president Donald Trump started in his administration.
