McConnell: Afghanistan ‘Dramatically Worse than Saigon in 1975’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of “America’s Newsroom” on Fox News Channel, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) weighed in on the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.

McConnell described the Taliban’s takeover as a result of the U.S. troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan as a “foreign policy blunder of gargantuan proportions that’s a stain on our national reputation and will be remembered for decades.

“This is one of the greatest foreign policy disasters in American history,” McConnell asserted.

He added, “[T]he decision to pull out was a gargantuan mistake, in my opinion. Having made that decision, you would have to conclude these guys couldn’t organize a two-car funeral. I mean, here’s where we are — the president needs to forget about the August 31 deadline. We need to send in enough … military personnel to rescue our people.”

The Republican from Kentucky emphasized that the fall of Afghanistan is “dramatically worse than Saigon in 1975.” He argued the difference is “there weren’t terrorists in Vietnam threatening to attack” on U.S. soil.

“I think it’s a lot worse than Saigon in 1975,” McConnell outlined. “There weren’t terrorists in Vietnam threatening to attack us here on U.S. soil. This is dramatically worse than Saigon in 1975 because Al Qaeda on the way back in, the same group with allied terrorist organizations that want to hit us here at home, will be able to operate freely throughout Afghanistan. So, this is considerably worse than the fall of Saigon.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent