WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07) issued the following statement in response to the collapse of the Afghan government and the evacuation of the United States Embassy in Kabul:

“The men and women of America’s armed forces, many of whom sacrificed their lives and their limbs to defeat those who planned and carried out the September 11 attacks, are owed a deep debt of gratitude by every American. It is a debt none of us will ever be able to repay.”

“The debacle unfolding on televisions and social media feeds around the world is a wake-up call for our nation. To be clear, those who serve our country demonstrate a professionalism and distinction that is second to none. They are, without question, the finest America has to offer.  But those who lead our servicemen and women have a duty to be worthy of that service – something the events of the last few weeks have made even clearer. Americans deserve the best trained, best equipped, best prepared and most modern military force the world has ever seen. That means insisting on Pentagon leaders who are focused on defending American interests and defeating our adversaries – not wasting time and resources on foolish distractions and destructive efforts that seek to treat our armed forces as a petri dish to conduct social experiments that cultivate cultural extremism.”

“President Biden isn’t the first chief executive to face a challenging situation in Afghanistan. Almost twenty years have passed since then-Senator Joe Biden voted for 2001 legislation authorizing the use of military force in Afghanistan. The subsequent conflict has raged through four presidential administrations – two Democratic and two Republican. Even so, the fact of the matter is that we are well into President Biden’s term of office, and he alone bears responsibility for allowing this conflict to collapse into total chaos – lacking any clear contingency plan, or even a basic understanding of the reality of the situation on the ground.”

“How we respond to these tragic events will determine if the 21st Century is an American Century – or something else. Will our actions going forward embolden our enemies and shake our alliances, or will they serve as a rallying call for us to restore American greatness through renewed common purpose? Only time will tell. But I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure that it is the latter.”

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