Katie Britt: Leaving people behind in Afghanistan is un-American

I’m sure like me, you’ve seen the horrific photos, videos and reports from Afghanistan.

The helicopter on the roof of our retreating embassy.

Those desperately seeking refuge clinging onto a plane for dear life… and then falling from the sky.

These tragic images are a direct result of the Biden administration’s lack of a plan and a president who has demonstrated weakness to our enemy, the Taliban.

It’s a sad day for the country we know and love. I’m embarrassed. I’m angry.

And I’m hurting thinking about America’s military families, like the ones I grew up with near Fort Rucker, who are now questioning whether their sacrifice was in vain.

I cannot emphasize this enough: the sacrifice and service of our brave men and women in uniform mattered. It saved lives. It helped keep us safe and free. And we will never forget it.

Today, my heart is with our Gold Star families and our service members who came back from Afghanistan wounded, whether visible or invisible. I think of the old saying, “Wars begin where they may but they do not end as you please.” I pray that there is peace and healing brought to every single soul that left a piece of who they were in foreign lands, surrendering their youth for the greater good.

The failure here is one of career politicians and bureaucrats, not of our incredible military.

According to Obama’s own Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, Joe Biden has been on the wrong side of seemingly every memorable foreign policy decision for the past half-century. And what we’re seeing now is no different. Why? Simply because he is a weak president, and we know strength deters war and weakness invites it.

We all wanted our service men and women to come home. But this was not the way to go about it.

Make no mistake: the Biden administration has created a hotbed of national security and humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan. The American flag has been evacuated from Kabul, while the Taliban’s flag will fly high on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Our weapons, vehicles and military technology have now fallen into the hands of our enemy. This was entirely avoidable and foreseeable.

At the end of the day, Joe Biden’s feckless foreign policy has put the lives of Americans still trapped in Afghanistan at great risk and the safety and security of every American in danger in the place where the plot to kill thousands of Americans on 9/11 was hatched.

The Trump administration had embarked on a strategic, conditions-based withdrawal and made clear to the Taliban that if they attacked, they would pay a heavy price. Biden’s precipitous exit is not what the previous administration had planned or set in motion.

Now, the people of Afghanistan have gone from the hope of freedom back to the oppression of the Taliban in the blink of an eye. Before we ran them out of power last time, the Taliban routinely stoned and executed women in the streets. And for what? Because these women wanted freedom. The Taliban doesn’t allow women to get a meaningful education, work, drive, or vote.

Likewise, thousands of Christians in Afghanistan are now faced with the very real possibility of death at the hands of the Taliban, simply because of their faith.

The Biden administration has failed them, just as they’ve failed all of the civilians left behind in Afghanistan who aided our military in the country. From interpreters to vendors to missionaries spreading the gospel, there are thousands of our allies and their families abandoned on the battlefield right now. Leaving people behind is the most un-American thing we could do, and it’s a stain on everything we stand for as a nation.

We must end Biden’s weakness before it causes great harm to many more Americans.

Please join me in continuing to pray for the Americans remaining in Afghanistan; for the people of Afghanistan, especially those who aided our fight against terror; and for our incredible veterans and military families.

God Bless them, and God Bless the United States of America.

Veterans in crisis can call 1-800-273-TALK, (1-800-273-8255) press option #1, and be linked to the Veterans Crisis Line and a crisis intervention professional. Veterans can also send a text message to 838255 to receive confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from the Veterans Crisis Line.

Katie Britt is a Republican candidate to serve as the next U.S. Senator for Alabama. An Enterprise native, Katie resides in Montgomery with her husband, Wesley, and their two children, Bennett and Ridgeway.