Amid the collapse of Afghanistan, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), along with his fellow freshman Republican colleagues, has penned a letter to President Joe Biden calling on his administration to swiftly remove Americans and United States’ Afghan partners out of the besieged country.
The lawmakers urged the administration to immediately prioritize the evacuation of American citizens and the many Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces in the fight against the Taliban.
The letter reads as follows:
We write today as members of the House Republican Freshman Class to express our deep concern with the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, and to highlight the plight of Americans and the many Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces and have still not been evacuated. While we may be new to Congress, the complete lack of leadership and direction that has come from your administration in the midst of this ongoing crisis has not been lost on us.
As you oversee the final withdrawal from Afghanistan, we call on your administration to urgently prioritize the evacuation of American citizens, security of the airfield, and the evacuation of loyal Afghans who served alongside U.S. forces. We must safely and expeditiously get Americans and our Afghan partners out of harm’s way. Leaving Afghan allies behind would almost certainly seal their fate and would have harmful and lasting repercussions for our nation that cannot be overlooked.
With these grave concerns in mind, we ask that you provide a briefing to Congress as soon as possible on your administration’s plan to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies. We would also ask that you brief our members on your plan going forward to prevent terrorists from capitalizing on the instability in Afghanistan. As members of Congress, we also need to understand how and why your administration had such a poor grasp of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. The American people and our nation’s veterans who served in Afghanistan deserve to have a full accounting of the diplomatic, defense, and intelligence failures that led to the crisis we are witnessing today.
Moore released a statement calling the current situation “an unforgiving insult” to American servicemembers “who spilled blood on Afghan soil.”
“The Biden administration’s botched retreat that has triggered the shocking and total collapse of the Afghanistan government is a painful betrayal of our Afghan allies, an unforgivable insult to the thousands of Americans who spilled their blood on Afghan soil, and an inconceivable abandonment of the many Americans who at this moment await rescue from the escalating warzone,” said Moore.
He added, “I join my fellow freshman Republican Congressmen in demanding President Biden provide a briefing to Congress on his plan to salvage the situation on the ground before our nation suffers even more irreversible damage to our global reputation among allies and foes alike.”
God bless the men and women who have served our country in Afghanistan.
Their sacrifice was not in vain – and their bravery will not be forgotten.
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— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) August 16, 2021
Biden on Monday publicly addressed the nation for the first time since the fall of the Middle Eastern country. In his speech, the president admitted that the situation escalated quicker than expected.
“[B]ut I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you,” said Biden. “The truth is: This did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated. So what’s happened? Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight. If anything, the developments of the past week reinforced that ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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