Trump will get Afghan president killed by emboldening ISIS with troop pullout: retired colonel

Retired colonel and CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton said Friday that President Donald Trump could wind up getting the president of Afghanistan killed by an "emboldened ISIS" if he proceeds with his troop drawdown.

Leighton said withdrawing troops would "open up a can of worms", with everyone from the Iranians to the Russians to the Turks rushing "to take advantage of the vacuum."

"The fact that we're leaving is pulling the pressure off of this pot that's boiling, and this boiling pot is going to run over very quickly in that area," Leighton said. "As far as Afghanistan is concerned, I think we're going to see a situation where the Taliban is going to become emboldened, ISIS that is active in Afghanistan is going to become emboldened, and it's going to be very difficult for the regime of Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president, to not only continue the fight, but to survive."