Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it has been 3\1/2\ years since August 30, 2021, when the last American forces withdrew from Afghanistan. The withdrawal was, by any objective measure, a total fiasco. However, the Biden administration does deserve some credit for evacuating at least 120,000 Afghans in those chaotic days after the Taliban overran Kabul. It was one of the largest--if not the largest-- humanitarian airlifts in history. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of Afghans and their families remain stranded in Afghanistan and other countries, especially Pakistan. Many of these people had worked for our government or participated in programs funded by the United States, in women's rights, in education, judicial and economic reform, in counternarcotics, and many other areas. These refugees worked with and for our government, our soldiers, our diplomats, and our intelligence officers. Some of these refugees have made it safely to the United States, thanks to the determined persistence of humanitarian organizations, including one in Vermont, the Vermont Afghan Alliance, and the outstanding work of Molly Gray and her staff. These organizations have advocated for refugees ceaselessly. They have not forgotten what those refugees did for our soldiers in Afghanistan. And these organizations have helped arrange for the practical needs that refugees face--housing, employment, and other social services--upon their arrival in the United States.…”