On the recordSeptember 22, 2022
I thank my friend from Florida for those words and comfort that they will hopefully bring. I think most Americans, especially those that knew anybody who fought for our country in Afghanistan, are aware of how poorly things went a year ago when the Biden administration, it appeared, tried to emulate the disastrous leaving of Vietnam when so much was left behind, including our allies. Like in Vietnam, allies were left there, many of whom were killed. Of course, 13 of our servicemen were killed that never should have been and did not need to be if we had left properly, as some of our Northern Alliance allies, a part of the Afghan people who fought for us and with us beginning in October 2001, about a month after 9/11--many died fighting for us and with us. We helped provide them weapons, and we had about 300 or so Special Operations people who were embedded with them, and they took the fight to the Taliban. Within 6 months, there was no organized Taliban left in Afghanistan. Some of them fled to Pakistan or other surrounding countries, but they had been defeated with the great help of General Dostum, who was the commander who was the overall commander of the Afghan forces fighting against the Taliban. President Biden and his advisers, for whatever reason, decided it was better to leave tens of billions of dollars of equipment and weapons for our enemies to use against our allies and probably one day use against the United States itself.…
