Congressman John James today asked witnesses before the House Foreign Affairs Committee what, if anything, can be done at this point to rectify the botched evacuation from Afghanistan and what is the cost to U.S. national security today.
“Thousands of Afghans stood with us in our hour of need, and we abandoned them in theirs. We left millions of dollars of weapons and equipment on the ground for our enemies to seize – not to mention in incalculable human cost of leaving many of our allies for dead at the hands of terrorists. Not to mention the national security threat caused by our allies no longer trusting us.” James said.
“As a veteran, my heart breaks for my brothers and sisters in arms who took on dangerous conditions to get as many people out of Afghanistan as possible. It breaks all the more for those we left behind.
“America is great because America is good and America is good because we protect the vulnerable. We cannot fix the past, but America must keep its promises to our allies.”
Today’s event was the first in a series of hearings and will focus on the fall of Kabul from August 13-August 30, particularly the efforts undertaken by the military and private citizens to evacuate Americans and our allies. The hearing featured four witnesses, including former Army Specialist Aidan Gunderson who was deployed to Afghanistan during the airlift and leaders from three private rescue operations.
The hearing took place at 10:00 a.m. ET. More details can be found here.
Rep. James is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as chair of the Africa Subcommittee.
