Senator Young’s Statement Following Briefing on North Korea and Afghanistan

Senator Young issued a statement following a briefing with the administration on North Korea and Afghanistan:

“I appreciated the briefing today on North Korea and Afghanistan from the administration’s senior national security officials, and as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will continue to monitor developments in both countries closely.

“I support the administration’s efforts, working with our allies and partners, to impose the maximum possible diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea.  Those efforts—reinforced by a credible military threat—represent the best chance for resolving this crisis peacefully.

“The U.S. military presence in Afghanistan should be based on our national security interests, the advice of our commanders, and the facts on the ground.  We must ensure that terrorists can never again use Afghanistan as a training ground and launching pad for terrorist attacks against our homeland.  I will continue to scrutinize the strategy in Afghanistan to ensure the administration has established clear and attainable metrics, milestones, and objectives, as well as provided our troops all of the resources they need to accomplish the mission.”