UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / From the desk of Tom Cole
This month marked the third anniversary of when the Biden-Harris Administration went against the advice of America’s top military leaders and conducted its’ disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan – a decision that was nothing short of chaotic, embarrassing, and detrimental.
This disorganized flight from Afghanistan will go down in history as a foreign policy failure by this Administration, as it led to the tragic loss of thirteen brave American service members and a resurgent Taliban. Marked by images of desperate civilians clinging to departing aircraft, it left behind thousands of both Afghans and Americans who had risked their own lives to help the United States for more than twenty years, as well as abandoned huge investments in sensitive military equipment, weapons, and vehicles, handing them right over into the hands of the Taliban, a known supporter of terrorism.
It showed unacceptable weakness on the world stage, as we abandoned an American mission.
Yet, to our enemies, this disorderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan was more than just a strategic setback for America — it was a symbol of American vulnerability and declining American resolve and principle.
Moreover, there is no question that Vladimir Putin, an aggressive observer of global power dynamics, saw this botched withdrawal as an opportunity to advance his own anti-Western geopolitical goals. In fact, just six months later, we watched Russia wrongfully invade Ukraine, igniting the largest war in Europe since World War II and significantly impacting the world stage.
At the end of the day, American foreign policy weakness encourages the enemies of freedom around the world, as it clearly gave Putin the green light for aggression in Ukraine. However, we must not forget this mistake so that we can ensure a debacle like this never happens again.
It must be made clear to our adversaries and the entire world - the United States of America is strong and will not allow tyrannical leaders or terrorists to prevail.
