Fresh off the news that representative Darren Soto will be joining Florida Agriculture Commission-elect Nikki Fried’s transition team, the Florida representative took time this week to visit servicemen and women stationed in Afghanistan as part of a congressional delegation trip to the country that is war-torn.
In a statement, Soto commented that “It was very inspiring meeting with our troops serving in Afghanistan. I was proud to meet with fellow Floridians like Commander Ed Ha (Oviedo), Staff Sergeant Acevedo-Marrs (Kissimmee), and CWO Dowling (Jacksonville), among others, and thank them for their service.”
Speaking on moving forward, Soto noted that “Overall, reconciliation talks between the Afghan Government and the Taliban rebels appear to be progressing. However, the new threat of ISIS-K poses a complication to the delicate peace process. We must continue fighting terrorism there to avoid it at home. I am hopeful additional peace discussions will give us an opportunity to wind down our military operations there.”
Matters escalated when, on the same day that representative Soto returned to the United States, a suicide bomber in Kabul killed 55 people at a gathering of clerics held in the capital. Although the Taliban have denied any involvement and the offshoot of ISIS, ISIS-K, which are active in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, are suspected to have been involved with the attack.
Republican representative Jim Banks, a member of the delegation, urged for President Trump to visit the country, saying that “I learned a lot and saw a lot that I didn't anticipate. The rise of ISIS-K is potentially a greater threat at this point than the Taliban, and that's a new development there.”
The President has indicated that this will likely happen soon.
In an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News, President Trump was asked about visiting American troops deployed in overseas conflcits, and the President commented that “I think you will see that happen. There are things that are being planned. We don’t want to talk about it because of security reasons and everything else.”
