House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) highlighted a significant national security threat tied to President Biden’s 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal during an interview on CBS News’s “Face The Nation” on Sunday. McCaul emphasized that the chaotic exit allowed thousands of ISIS-K militants to escape from prisons, posing a direct threat to U.S. security.
McCaul addressed the recent surge in border arrests and expressed grave concerns over the presence of ISIS-K fighters in the United States. “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,” he said.
These militants, McCaul explained, have managed to travel through Mexico and infiltrate the U.S. “They make their way over. They come through Mexico. And they enter into the United States. ISIS,” he noted.
While the FBI has detained eight ISIS individuals, McCaul questioned how many more have successfully entered the country. He recalled his time chairing the Homeland Security Committee, where the potential for ISIS infiltration was a significant concern, but the threat has now materialized.
McCaul’s comments underscore the ongoing national security challenges linked to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the broader implications for border security. His remarks serve as a stark reminder of the complex and evolving threats facing the nation.
