Afghanistan
August 26th marked the anniversary of the killing of 13 American servicemembers in Afghanistan.
As you recall, the Biden-Harris Administration in April of 2021 announced a decision to withdraw our troops.
In that announcement, the withdrawal was to conclude by September 11, a symbolic tribute to the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks carried out by the Taliban.
I had supported an orderly and responsible withdrawal of our soldiers from Afghanistan. After defeating Al Qaeda and warding off radical Islamic extremism, the U.S. accomplished its original mission.
However, Biden-Harris oversaw an ill-planned and chaotic withdrawal.
The U.S.-backed government quickly fell to the Taliban.
American troops were removed before securing our embassy personnel and other Americans in Kabul.
We not only left behind billions of dollars in military equipment for the Taliban to seize, but as our troops withdrew, they did not disable the equipment.
The idea of spiking the cannons before retreating is centuries old.
This rushed exit forced us to deploy evacuation troops to the region.
On August 26, an ISIS-K suicide bomber carried out a terrorist attack at Abbey Gate, killing 13 American soldiers and 200 others. 18 other American soldiers were wounded.
Videos of what unfolded circled the globe. Like you, I watched in horror as abandoned Afghans clung to the outside of departing airplanes, only to see them fall and plummet to their deaths.
Following the botched exit, I called for the impeachment of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the resignations of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.
Their incompetence and failure to protect American citizens during this withdrawal jeopardized American lives and left thirteen soldiers dead.
And yet, nothing ever happened to these officials. The Biden-Harris Administration allowed all three to continue in their roles (Milley retired in September of 2023).
To the delight of our terrorist foes overseas, the freedom-seeking world is paying the price for Biden-Harris naivete and negligence.
Were the Biden-Harris actions in Afghanistan and their dealings with Iran partly responsible for the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th of last year?
Maybe? But I believe it certainly didn’t help!
That Hamas attack resulted in more than 1,200 deaths. More than two dozen were American citizens. Hundreds were taken hostage, including 12 Americans. 11 months later, Israeli forces are still trying to rescue them. As I’m writing, they rescued a Bedouin hostage in Gaza. Some Americans are still held captive by Hamas.
As we watch the news, Israel faces missile and drone attacks from Hezbollah.
American forces are also facing threats from other Iranian-backed terrorist groups.
In January of this year, three American servicemembers were killed in Jordan following a drone attack. More than 40 others were wounded. The attack was carried out by Iran-backed terrorists.
At that time, a Department of Defense release noted that U.S. service members and U.S. and coalition facilities had been attacked more than 150 times from October 2023-January 2024 in Syria and Iraq alone.
On the Red Sea, it gets worse.
American naval forces are engaged with the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who are seizing commercial ships and trading fire with Israel.
The Associated Press reports the Red Sea conflict has thrusted the U.S. Navy into its “most intense running sea battle” since World War II.
Do not forget, the Biden-Harris Administration removed the Houthis from the U.S. government’s designated foreign terrorist list (the Trump Administration had placed them on the list).
This year, Biden-Harris reversed course and reapplied the Trump-era policy.
Blinken, Biden, and Harris are on the record saying they do not seek wider conflict in the Middle East.
But their Administration’s actions – or lack of actions – towards Iran (on top of Afghanistan) has resulted in further destabilization of the region.
This September, Speaker Johnson plans to present the families of the slain servicemen from the Abbey Gate terrorist attack the Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.
According to National Review magazine, neither Biden nor Harris have personally reached out to these families.
We will remember the sacrifices of the 13 courageous American heroes who died in Afghanistan in the closing days of the Afghanistan withdrawal. We owe it to their families, and the families of all our servicemembers, current and former, to project peace through strength.
As history has repeatedly showed us, a stronger America means a safer and more peaceful planet.
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.
