HE WOULD KNOW

George W. Bush Says He Worries About ‘Bad Consequences’ of U.S. Troops Exiting Afghanistan

“It breaks my heart.”

As President Biden closes in on his promise to withdraw all U.S. troops after nearly 20 years in Afghanistan, the man who first sent them there has decided to weigh in. In an interview with German outlet Deutsche Welles published Wednesday, former President George W. Bush says the consequences of the pullout will be “unbelievably bad and sad” and he fears for women after NATO troops leave the country. “I’m afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm,” Bush said. “They’re just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart.” The Taliban claims to have taken over 85 percent of the country’s territory, causing a “deteriorating security situation,” according to Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. Control has been handed to the Afghan government, which is holding peace talks with the Taliban. “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build,” Biden said of questions about if the U.S. will intervene further in the country. “And it’s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.”