Koch-owned super PAC urges Biden to pull troops from Afghanistan

Koch-owned super PAC urges Biden to pull troops from Afghanistan
The seven-figure ad campaign comes as the Biden administration reviews a US-Taliban peace agreement.
2 min read
08 February, 2021
The US is due to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by May 1 [Getty]
A super PAC funded by the Koch brothers has launched a million dollar campaign to push President Joe Biden to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.

The campaign by the Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) lobby group hopes to see the new president make good on a Trump administration promise to withdraw all troops from the war-torn country, Axios reported.

CVA is an offshoot of Americans for Prosperity, one of the United States' most influential conservative advocacy groups.

It is funded by the Koch brothers, two of the country's richest businessmen who frequently put their money towards conservative and liberatarian poltical causes.

CVA will initially spend $1.25 million on the digital ad campaign, according to Axios.

The seven-figure ad campaign by CVA comes as the Biden administration pulls whether to suspend ongoing withdrawals of US troops from Afghanistan.

President Biden failed to mention the quandry in his first major foreign policy speech last week.

The pullout of US troops was promised as part of a deal signed with the Taliban in the Qatari capital Doha last year.

Concerns remain in Washington remain over whether it is wise to go forward with the withdrawal as violence against government troops and civilians continues to shake Afghanistan.

The Biden administration has said it will review the Doha agreement and has accused the militant group of refusing to make good on promises of violence reduction and cutting ties with Al-Qaeda.

Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers urged President Biden to delay the withdrawal process beyond a May 1 deadline amid worries over increased violence.

Washington should wait until a decline in violence and progress in peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government before completing the pullout, the Afghan Study Group said in a report.

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