Last week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., brought back the “Preventing Recognition of Terrorist States Act” which will designate the Afghanistan government as a state sponsor of terrorism and the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Rubio has been championing the bill in recent years and he explained why he brought it back last week.
“A Taliban-controlled Afghanistan poses a direct threat to our national security interests as well as our allies and partners both in the Middle East and in Central Asia. The Biden administration’s botched military withdrawal from Afghanistan has left the nation as a safe haven for anti-American terrorists. Designating the Taliban as an FTO is the next logical step,” said Rubio.
U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV, and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wy., are co-sponsoring the bill.
“Two years after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, we’ve seen what this radical terrorist group is capable of. Not only do they aid and abet terrorism, they continue to violate human rights, especially those of women and young children. By designating the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization and preventing U.S. recognition of their regime, this legislation takes necessary steps to correct one of the Biden administration’s most disastrous foreign policy mistakes,” said Capito.
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. So far, there is no companion bill in the U.S. House.
