STATEMENT FROM CHAIRMAN MENENDEZ FOLLOWING CLASSIFIED COMMITTEE BRIEFING ON AFGHANISTAN

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/young-afghan-women-fear-for-future-under-taliban/ar-AANhT8u?li=BBnb7Kz

snip...

I've been reporting from Afghanistan for more than a decade. Over the years, I've spent time with journalists, female judges, female members of parliament, human rights activists and university students. Many have become good friends.

They all say the same thing - we stepped out on a whim because we were encouraged by the Americans and their allies to do so. For 20 years the West has inspired, financed and sheltered this new generation of Afghans. They have grown up with freedoms and opportunities that they fully embraced.

Now they tell me they feel completely abandoned by the democratic world they thought they were part of.

In my most recent trip to Kabul, I spoke to Taliban frontline commanders and foot soldiers. They told me they are determined to re-impose their version of Sharia law, which would include stoning for adultery, amputation of limbs for theft and preventing girls from going to school beyond the age of 12.