Biden Afghanistan Failure

The events unfolding daily in Afghanistan are a tragedy that could have been avoided. Instead of swift, decisive action, our president ignored the warnings of an abrupt departure from Afghanistan resulting in the capital of Kabul being overrun by the Taliban, leaving the country again under the control of the terrorist group.

The president appeared uninformed and unconcerned as the Taliban began moving through the country, reclaiming towns as their own at the beginning of July. Biden ignored warnings from military advisors that the terrorist group would stop at nothing to reclaim the country. Then his decision to abandon the Bagram Air Base early and leave only a few hundred troops on the ground at Hamid Karzai International Airport helped widen the door for the Taliban’s rapid takeover.

The House Armed Services Committee, of which I am member, had concerns about the possibility of a Taliban takeover following the announcement by President Biden that the United States would withdraw all troops by the anniversary of 9/11.

For the last several months, Republican HASC committee members have repeatedly requested a plan of withdrawal from Afghanistan from the Biden Administration, and have never received one. What we are witnessing now is the result of having no clear path forward.

For nearly 20 years, American soldiers have honorably served in Afghanistan, helping prevent another attack on the United States by extremist groups who seek to destroy our way of life. Many of those same military men and women are now receiving frantic phone calls or text messages from Afghani citizens looking for help to leave the country. The lives of thousands of Afghanis, who became loyal U.S. allies and worked side-by-side with the U.S. military, are now in jeopardy.

I have stated before that I support the removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and the previous administration struck a deal that included a conditions-based withdrawal of our military. The conditions of that agreement have been continuously violated by the Taliban and the Biden administration has not held them accountable. It’s not a matter of whether or not we should withdraw, but the chaotic manner in which it took place. Due to the administration’s failure to adequately plan, there are now more than twice the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan than when he took office.

Now that the Taliban control the country, I am very concerned that Afghanistan will again be headquarters for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups to plot and execute attacks throughout the world.

The Biden administration needs to present to Congress a clear plan of action to safely and quickly remove the nearly 15,000 Americans who are still in Afghanistan. Biden must also work to protect and extract the loyal Afghanis who remain in the country, which could number up to 70,000.

The U.S. has had no loss of life in Afghanistan for more than a year, but the lives of Americans are again at risk from Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist groups. It was the president’s lack of planning and decisiveness that led to this national security and humanitarian crisis. He owes it to the American people and Congress to provide a clear plan on the safe evacuation of American and allied partners still left in the country, and the path moving forward for Afghanistan.