Josh Hawley: “I am here today to talk about the crisis in Afghanistan and to honor the distinguished service of those who gave the…”

“I am here today to talk about the crisis in Afghanistan and to honor the distinguished service of those who gave the last full measure of their devotion protecting Americans there. For the last month, Americans have watched, horrified, at the scenes of chaos and terror and bloodshed: Americans trapped at the Kabul Airport, terrified as the enemy closed in; innocent civilians fleeing for their lives, abandoned by their government; a young man desperately clinging to a departing plane's landing gear, he was so desperate to escape, only to fall then to his tragic death; 13 marines, the pride of our Nation, cut down by terrorists, never to see home again; and, then, as American planes finally departed, hundreds of American civilians left behind to the enemy. Let me say that again: hundreds of American civilians left behind to the enemy. And after all of that, who can forget the image of the President of the United States, declaring this mission that he planned, that he executed, that he oversaw--this mission that left 13 marines dead, that left hundreds of American civilians behind enemy lines; this mission that resulted in chaos and terror and bloodshed--who can forget this President saying that this mission was, and I quote, ``extraordinarily successful''? An extraordinary success--really? Has a Commander in Chief in American history ever before uttered words like that?…”