Thank you for reaching out and contacting me about President Biden’s failure in Afghanistan.
The loss of 12 Marines and one Navy medic was a complete tragedy. The debacle that occurred in Afghanistan was preventable and mired in a lack of honest accounting for what has transpired.
On April 14th, President Biden announced that he would remove all American troops from Afghanistan by September 11th. In this speech the President stated that he “inherited a diplomatic agreement” to have all US forces out by May 1, however he did not want to conduct a hasty rush to the exit. He assured Americans that it would be done “responsibly, deliberately, and safely.” The President told Americans that part of the agreement with the Taliban was that there would be no casualties. In response to Biden’s decision to delay full withdrawal until Sept. 11, the Taliban released a statement that said failure to complete the withdrawal by May 1 “opens the way for [the Taliban] to take every necessary countermeasure, hence the American side will be held responsible for all future consequences.” On May 18th, the Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) released a report which said that in the first three months of 2021, the Taliban had increased attacks against Afghanistan government forces and appeared to prepare “large scale offenses” with al-Qaeda. On June 8th, the Taliban spokesman made it clear that after foreign forces leave Afghanistan the groups goal was to create an “Islamic government” and that they would be “compelled to continue (their) war to achieve (their) goal.” Despite all of this, President Biden’s only change to the evacuation plan was to leave on August 31st rather than September 11th.
On July 6th, the United States Military pulled out of the Bagram Airfield in the middle of the night and the administration failed to notify our allies of this move. On August 6th, the Taliban took control of multiple provinces, including the Capital of Nimroz, which violated their agreement with the United States. The former Afghan president fled Afghanistan only hours later. On August 16th, President Biden held a press conference saying that he did not regret his decision, however it did unfold quicker than he anticipated. In the same breath, the President blamed the Afghanistan military, completely dismissing the fact that over 10,000 have died from the hands of the Taliban terrorizing their country under his watch. President Biden also stated that he did not tell people to leave because he did not want to undermine the Afghanistan Government. However, after the fall of Kabul he continuously blamed those who are still in Afghanistan for not leaving. Once again, choosing to not take responsibility for the lives he put in danger.
After the fall of Kabul, President Biden reversed course by once again sending United States Marines into Afghanistan to assist with the rescue of Americans and Afghan allies. President Biden committed to the American people that he would rescue every American who wanted to leave. Once the Marines secured the airport, the Biden Administration refused to extend the perimeter or rescue Americans. At the same time, we saw our Allies such as France and the United Kingdom, leaving the airport to retrieve their citizens from the country.
On August 26th, we lost the lives of 13 US service members and 180 Afghan men, women, and children, resulting in the deadliest attack in Afghanistan in a decade. In the days following, the Biden Administration closed the airport and fully evacuated the US military by August 30th.
The long-term consequences of this disastrous end to the war in Afghanistan remain to be seen. The United States abandoned over 200 American citizens, $85 billion of U.S military equipment, thousands of Afghan allies, and multiple other assets. During the evacuation, the Biden Administration gave lists of names of Americans and Afghan allies, and they also possess the biometric equipment we used to identify them.
I want to be clear; the Taliban are our enemies and they have proven this time and time again. The decision to coordinate with them and provide names of Americans and Afghan allies is naïve at best, and cowardly at worst. I have been working with my colleagues to hold this administration accountable and will continue to do so. Since the fall of Kabul, I have sent a letter to the Biden Administration calling for a full review of the failures that I have laid out in this letter. I have also joined legislation demanding the IG investigate how US military weapons and equipment ended up in the Taliban’s possession and legislation condemning the President for his lack of planning and failure of execution.
This was not a war of choice, this is a shameful close to a chapter that followed the terrorist attacks that happened on September 11th, 2001. The one positive note that I wish to stress is that I am moved beyond words over the sacrifice and service of our men and women in uniform. Everyone who has served in Afghanistan has reflected our American values with honor and their service has saved countless lives over the last 20 years. Our service members have my deepest gratitude and support.
We must pray for our military and those who are still in Afghanistan, after all we are all Americans together. The situation in Afghanistan is still chaotic, and my office is doing everything we can to work with the military and the State Department to help Americans and our Afghan allies get out. Should you know of anyone who may need our help, please feel free to reach out to my Sioux Center office at (712) 224-4691 or contact me at feensta.house.gov
Please tell the President to save our people and friends in Afghanistan. While I agree that we should leave Afghanistan, it is irresponsible to sacrifice innocent people, because of a botched exit. Our troops are plenty capable of this task.
Thank you for reaching out and contacting me about President Biden’s failure in Afghanistan.
The loss of 12 Marines and one Navy medic was a complete tragedy. The debacle that occurred in Afghanistan was preventable and mired in a lack of honest accounting for what has transpired.
On April 14th, President Biden announced that he would remove all American troops from Afghanistan by September 11th. In this speech the President stated that he “inherited a diplomatic agreement” to have all US forces out by May 1, however he did not want to conduct a hasty rush to the exit. He assured Americans that it would be done “responsibly, deliberately, and safely.” The President told Americans that part of the agreement with the Taliban was that there would be no casualties. In response to Biden’s decision to delay full withdrawal until Sept. 11, the Taliban released a statement that said failure to complete the withdrawal by May 1 “opens the way for [the Taliban] to take every necessary countermeasure, hence the American side will be held responsible for all future consequences.” On May 18th, the Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) released a report which said that in the first three months of 2021, the Taliban had increased attacks against Afghanistan government forces and appeared to prepare “large scale offenses” with al-Qaeda. On June 8th, the Taliban spokesman made it clear that after foreign forces leave Afghanistan the groups goal was to create an “Islamic government” and that they would be “compelled to continue (their) war to achieve (their) goal.” Despite all of this, President Biden’s only change to the evacuation plan was to leave on August 31st rather than September 11th.
On July 6th, the United States Military pulled out of the Bagram Airfield in the middle of the night and the administration failed to notify our allies of this move. On August 6th, the Taliban took control of multiple provinces, including the Capital of Nimroz, which violated their agreement with the United States. The former Afghan president fled Afghanistan only hours later. On August 16th, President Biden held a press conference saying that he did not regret his decision, however it did unfold quicker than he anticipated. In the same breath, the President blamed the Afghanistan military, completely dismissing the fact that over 10,000 have died from the hands of the Taliban terrorizing their country under his watch. President Biden also stated that he did not tell people to leave because he did not want to undermine the Afghanistan Government. However, after the fall of Kabul he continuously blamed those who are still in Afghanistan for not leaving. Once again, choosing to not take responsibility for the lives he put in danger.
After the fall of Kabul, President Biden reversed course by once again sending United States Marines into Afghanistan to assist with the rescue of Americans and Afghan allies. President Biden committed to the American people that he would rescue every American who wanted to leave. Once the Marines secured the airport, the Biden Administration refused to extend the perimeter or rescue Americans. At the same time, we saw our Allies such as France and the United Kingdom, leaving the airport to retrieve their citizens from the country.
On August 26th, we lost the lives of 13 US service members and 180 Afghan men, women, and children, resulting in the deadliest attack in Afghanistan in a decade. In the days following, the Biden Administration closed the airport and fully evacuated the US military by August 30th.
The long-term consequences of this disastrous end to the war in Afghanistan remain to be seen. The United States abandoned over 200 American citizens, $85 billion of U.S military equipment, thousands of Afghan allies, and multiple other assets. During the evacuation, the Biden Administration gave lists of names of Americans and Afghan allies, and they also possess the biometric equipment we used to identify them.
I want to be clear; the Taliban are our enemies and they have proven this time and time again. The decision to coordinate with them and provide names of Americans and Afghan allies is naïve at best, and cowardly at worst. I have been working with my colleagues to hold this administration accountable and will continue to do so. Since the fall of Kabul, I have sent a letter to the Biden Administration calling for a full review of the failures that I have laid out in this letter. I have also joined legislation demanding the IG investigate how US military weapons and equipment ended up in the Taliban’s possession and legislation condemning the President for his lack of planning and failure of execution.
This was not a war of choice, this is a shameful close to a chapter that followed the terrorist attacks that happened on September 11th, 2001. The one positive note that I wish to stress is that I am moved beyond words over the sacrifice and service of our men and women in uniform. Everyone who has served in Afghanistan has reflected our American values with honor and their service has saved countless lives over the last 20 years. Our service members have my deepest gratitude and support.
We must pray for our military and those who are still in Afghanistan, after all we are all Americans together. The situation in Afghanistan is still chaotic, and my office is doing everything we can to work with the military and the State Department to help Americans and our Afghan allies get out. Should you know of anyone who may need our help, please feel free to reach out to my Sioux Center office at (712) 224-4691 or contact me at feensta.house.gov
Member of Congress
Contact Me
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1440 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4426
Fax: (202) 225-3193
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Room 112
Sioux City, IA 51101
Phone: (712) 224-4691
Fort Dodge
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Fort Dodge, IA 50501
Phone: (515) 302-7060
Visit my website to learn more!
www.feenstra.house.gov