Today, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) issued the following statement:
“History will record President Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan as a stain on America’s honor and credibility both at home and abroad. It is unconscionable that the world’s most powerful country abandoned some of our own citizens and green card holders, and betrayed thousands of our Afghan allies we had promised refuge, leaving them to certain death at the hands of the Taliban.
“It should have never been this way, and the buck stops with President Biden. The buck stops with him not only because he is the president, but because he decided to overrule military leaders by setting an arbitrary and politically motivated withdrawal date. He decided to appease the Taliban, put them in charge of security in Kabul, and allow them to gain access to our weapons and equipment. He decided to handcuff our military who wanted to do more while allowing the State Department—under the incompetent management of Secretary Blinken—to run a chaotic bureaucratic process that became a nightmare for Americans and Afghans desperately seeking to get out.
“President Biden has repeatedly misled the American people and pointed fingers at everyone else to avoid taking any responsibility for his own failed decisions. President Biden promised that we would not leave until every American was evacuated, a promise he shamefully broke in order to keep the promises he made to the Taliban. When the American people now hear the phrase ‘those who wanted to leave’ coming from administration officials, they need to know that some did not leave because the American government only gave them the option to evacuate if they left their loved ones behind in Afghanistan.
“These last several weeks have been tremendously difficult for our servicemembers, veterans, and Gold Star families. It’s especially painful for veterans who are worried sick about what will happen to their Afghan friends they served alongside now that America has left. The brave Americans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom did everything we asked them to do and more, and we can never forget their heroic service and sacrifice.
“It is our government leaders who are responsible for the disastrous withdrawal and the stain on America’s honor and credibility. Their failures have made it likely that Afghanistan will once again become a safe haven for al-Qaeda and other terror networks.
“Congress now has a duty to investigate what went wrong, why it went wrong, and hold the administration accountable for failing our citizens and allies.”