Servicemembers, Veterans, And Gold Star Families Deserve Better Than Biden’s Incompetent Handling And Absent Leadership On Afghanistan
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BIDEN’S WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN HAS BEEN A COMPLETE FAILURE
- U.S. defense officials are now worried that the Taliban takeover will give Al Qaeda a safe haven and allow them to rebuild.
- Meanwhile, Afghans that helped America are being executed in the streets.
- As Americans remain trapped in Afghanistan, Biden is absent.
- Twenty years ago, American patriots answered the call of duty to preserve freedom and prevent terrorism from once again coming to our shores; after making so many sacrifices, our servicemembers, veterans, and Gold Star families deserve answers from Biden.
VETERANS HAVE SLAMMED BIDEN’S HANDLING OF AFGHANISTAN
- Navy Reservist Tom Porter: “To see it all melt away in a matter of hours … It’s shocking and it’s angering.”
- Army/Afghanistan Veteran Matt Zeller: “The Secretary of State goes on TV this morning and says this is not a new Saigon, and he is right. It’s worse. It’s worse than Saigon.”
- Retired Army Sergeant Eric Sowers: “I think we left in such rapid fashion … with no good succession put in place. That’s what is heartbreaking.”
- Former Naval officer James Seddon: “A few times I felt physically dizzy … The chaotic scenes at the airport … An airport I’ve been to many times. And seeing the Taliban in the presidential palace. A place I’ve been to many times. And I need to prep myself for more scenes like that, because more are coming.”
- Air Force Veteran Sam Lerman: “Never in my life have I been ashamed to be an American before … and I am deeply.”
GOLD STAR FAMILIES: “WE DIDN’T HAVE TO LEAVE THIS WAY”
- Gold Star wife Jane Horton: “My heart is broken, our hearts are broken as a Gold Star community over these events.”
- Gold Star father David Horton: “My son … laid down his life. He was killed in action. Chris was fighting for what he believed in … A secure Afghanistan made our nation more secure. So we’re just sad to see this. I agree, we had to leave, we didn’t have to leave this way and with things in such a disarray.”
- Gold Star mother Suzi Fernandez: “I don't imagine if I could put myself in my son's shoes right now what he would say, I think he would be very disappointed.”
- Gold Star mother Annette Kirk: “Sunday when I first saw everything going on I had so much pain in my heart, so much confusion in my head.”
VETERANS IN CONGRESS: “COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE,” “PUNCH IN THE GUT”
- Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Army Veteran: “Biden’s poorly planned exit in Afghanistan has jeopardized the safety of our American citizens & Afghan allies.”
- Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Army Veteran: “The current situation in Afghanistan is a crisis that was completely avoidable and undermines our position with other allies.”
- Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Navy/Afghanistan Veteran: “For anyone who served in Afghanistan, like myself, thousands of others, anyone who has invested anything at all in our efforts there, this makes all of us angry because it was completely avoidable, it was predictable.”
- Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), Army Veteran: “The fact that we are headed into the 20th anniversary of 9/11 where we are about to see Taliban and Al Qaeda flags flying once again over Kabul is just a punch in the gut to every veteran, Gold Star family, 9/11 victim family out there.”
- Rep. Van Taylor (R-TX), Marine Corps Veteran: Biden has “clearly made a tremendous mistake.”
- Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Army Veteran, blamed the Biden administration’s “failures of intelligence, diplomacy and a lack of imagination as we transitioned military forces from the country.”
