Chris Murphy

It left Joe Biden with really only two options. One, get everybody out or a massive surge back into Afghanistan, which, frankly, the facts of the case just would not merit.

There was never going to be a moment when the United States military was going to be able to create a fully functioning, independent and competent Afghan military and government. If we couldn`t do it in 20 years, we weren`t going to do it…

It`s frankly up to us in Congress to use this moment right now when Democrats control the House and the Senate to reorient the tool kit of an American president to say, listen, we are going to give the state department and USAID tremendous…

Joe Biden had the courage and the guts to do that. But you are now seeing that establishment come down on him like a ton of bricks.

The Republican Party has been very clear that their desire is to stay in Afghanistan forever. They may not actually say it that way but what we know definitively now is that there was never going to be a moment when the United States…

Our collective hearts are breaking for the families of those that were lost yesterday in Afghanistan. We hope there isn`t any more news like that to come -- despite the threats that continue at the airport.

Of course, there was going to be chaos. Of course, there was going to be panic on the streets of Kabul after their government and military fell apart overnight.

I don`t think we should let the Taliban decide when we stop airlifting Americans or those who were most closely helping us out of the country.

These images are heartbreaking to watch. Babies being lifted over walls, to hear the stories of Afghan families, people who helped us over the last 20 years, having difficulty getting to the airport, having their lives threatened.

I think the president has made the right decision, to temporarily surge forces there to bring them home.

This decision was a difficult decision but in the end it was the right one because it tells our future partners around the world that the United States will be in business with you but not forever if you aren’t willing to stand up and do…

The Taliban surge is a reason to stick to the withdrawal plan, staying one more year in Afghanistan means we stay forever.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 5:56 a.m., adjourned until Friday, August 13, 2021, at 9:30 a.m…

I hope our partners noticed that silence.

The question I am simply asking is for us to assess the cost of altering our relationship versus the cost of continuing it unmodified.

The future of the world is going to depend on the outcome of the contest between American-style democracy and Russian and Chinese-modeled autocracy

The JCPOA did not nor was intended to solve all of our outstanding issues with Iran, but as a mechanism to discuss and promote the ways that you can affect Iranian behavior other than through the sale of arms to their competitors.

This town loves military escalation. Makes a lot of people rich here. De-escalation is not as lucrative.

There is no doubt China has an intent to grow their security partnerships in the region.

The cost of continuing it unmodified is to send a signal of endorsement to this behavior.

My opening comments were designed to sort of provoke this conversation about whether our assumptions about the reasons for our aid are matched to current realities.

We still are a moral pacesetter around the world.

We need to engage China from a position of strength.

I am interested in continuing this dialogue.

Is not there a risk at some point that if there is no consequence for a country like Egypt to continuing this crackdown on political dissent and speech that it compromises our ability to lead the world when it comes to the advancement of…