CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Jason Crow

Interview

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REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): Well, thanks for having me.

I know President Biden has a full understanding of the risk because I've seen the same intelligence that he's seen. And there is risk. The issue is not whether or not there is risk. This is all about relative risk.

The United States faces risks from dozens of different places, dozens of different transnational terrorist organizations, a rising China, an aggressive Russia, cyberattacks, climate change.

We don't have unlimited resources. We have been there for 20 years. Over 2,000 Americans have given their lives. We have spent over $2 trillion on this conflict.

There is no military way to solve it. If there was a military way to solve it, we would have found it a long time ago.

The president made the right decision. It's time to focus our resources other -- elsewhere. But we -- that does not mean we are going to disengage from Afghanistan, but we continue to support the Afghan government and the security forces but we're going to do so without boots on the ground.

BROWN: So you support Biden's withdrawal, but I want to get your reaction to this. What sources have told CNN that the pace of U.S. withdrawal is catching some in Washington and Afghanistan by surprise.

Now, we heard Biden say today that speed is safety. Let's listen to what he said.

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BIDEN: Thanks to the way, in which we have managed our withdrawal, no one, no one U.S. forces or any forces have -- have been lost.

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BROWN: So, do you think that this is happening too quickly? Or has it, in fact, saved lives by being so quick?

CROW: Well, the president is right, in that withdrawal operations are actually some of the riskiest things that you do in the military. The military calls it retrograde operations which is their term for withdrawing. It's very risky because as there are fewer and fewer personnel, boots on the ground, at any one operating base or outpost, those folks who are behind are at greater and greater risk.

Nobody wants to be the last person on the helicopter. But what I do know is if there had been an attack in the last couple of months and U.S. soldiers had lost their lives during the withdrawal. Then, that's when we would be talking about. We would be talking about whether or not the withdrawal was botched, whether it was done the right way. No Americans have lost their lives because we've done this quick.

We've done it efficiently. We've done it the way that it's supposed to be done. And, you know, instead, we're having a discussion without additional American lives having been lost.

BROWN: And as you well know, there are many components to a withdrawal and there is this big question about relocating Afghan nationals. Biden says that that will happen, you know, clear of this month. These are Afghan nationals who helped U.S. forces.

But it's, still, unclear, how many or where exactly they'll go.

How do -- what do you think about how the Biden administration has handled this issue?

CROW: Well, I continue to push the Biden administration on this issue. That's why I, along with several other members of Congress, actually formed the Honoring Our Promises working group shortly after the administration announced the withdrawal, because this is extremely personal for us.

I am not exaggerating when I say I may not be here, sitting here, talking with you today had it not been for the Iraqis and the Afghans who served with me, who fought with me, who warned me of risks, that helped me navigate challenging situations. They're our brothers and sisters. They fought alongside of us and even lost their lives sacrificing for the United States of America.

So we have an obligation to protect them and their families, number one. Number two, this is a national security issue. We're going to be facing risks in the future and future years and decades. And our future partners are going to look at how we treat our current partners, whether or not we leave them behind, whether or not the American handshake matters.

And that's what's at stake here. We're going to debate the Afghan war for decades to come. Books are going to be written about it, debates are going to be had about it but there is honor in the next couple months in doing the right thing and standing by our Afghan partners and we are going to continue to push the administration to make sure that's what happens.

BROWN: So, it just sounds like from hearing you talk about it that you -- that you disagree with some of how the Biden administration has handled this, is that right?

CROW: No, I think that they have come around to this. The president has been very clear in the last couple of weeks and even today that they are going to conduct an evacuation.

But it's complicated. This is not an easy thing to do. You have to get people to Kabul. You have to put them through a vetting process to make sure that we're keeping the United States safe.

[16:235:02] You know, we are passing legislation. We actually passed one of my bills last week in the House to expedite the special immigrant visa process. We're going to pass more legislation in the coming weeks to speed that process up.

This is not easy. But I, certainly, have been pushing the administration to do it. I -- I wish they had done it, a little bit sooner because time is of the essence here. But they have come around to the right decision. But as a member of Congress, my job is not the rubber stamp and just agree with the administration. My job is to make sure I'm pushing them when I need to, and that's what I'm going to continue to do.

BROWN: I am going to get your reaction to this piece in "The Economist" today that made this point, quote: Those who worry about possible reprisals against the locals who worked as translators for the Americans are missing the big picture. America is abandoning an entire country of almost 40 million people to a grizzly fate.

Do you worry Afghanistan will essentially go back to exactly where it was 20 years ago?

CROW: Well, I disagree with the premise of that statement. I mean, the premise is that Afghanistan shouldn't stand on its own or can't stand on its own.

The Afghan people are a proud people. They are a people with a proud history and if you ask any Afghan, regardless of where they are or where their sentiments lie, they want independence. They want to stand on their own.

This idea that we should perpetually be there or need to perpetually be there is not one that, I think, really holds much water. So there is risk. And I think it comes back to the risk issue. And there is risk in a lot of places.

But we don't have unlimited money. We don't have unlimited resources. We have to make a decision about how best to protect the United States, how best to make sure we're spreading peace and freedom and democracy around the world given the various challenges that we face, in -- in the Asian Pacific area, in Europe and so many other places.

We are not abandoning Afghanistan. We will continue to engage with them. We're just not going to have American boots on the ground.

BROWN: All right. Congressman Jason Crow, thank you for sharing your perspective, especially as someone who has served in Afghanistan and has been on the ground there. Thanks so much.

CROW: Thank you.

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