With the collapse of Afghanistan, Pennsylvania lawmakers urged the military to protect Americans and allies aiming to get out of the country as it spirals into chaos.
President Joe Biden said Monday that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan. He acknowledged the crumbling of the Afghan government occurred more quickly than expected.
Democrats and Republicans pointed to a common theme: protecting Americans and allies trying to escape from Afghanistan. Republicans issued the most pointed condemnation of the president but some Democratic lawmakers didn’t hide their disappointment over the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., voiced concern for the potential of human rights abuses, particularly aimed at women and girls, as the Taliban reclaims control of the country.
“Now that the Taliban has entered Kabul and has taken control of the government, our allies and defenders of democracy in Afghanistan are in grave danger, particularly women’s rights activists and leaders,” Casey said in a statement. “This is not the time for the usual Washington finger pointing and pontificating; our immediate priority must be to safely evacuate the Americans, women leaders, activists and human rights defenders who are being targeted by the Taliban.”
“Once we have secured a safe evacuation for as many of our allies as possible, Congress should conduct a full review of mistakes made in Afghanistan over the course of 20 years,” Casey added.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said the situation in Afghanistan “is nothing short of a tragedy.”
“The miscalculation to rapidly withdraw our forces to meet symbolic rather than strategic deadlines has created a rapidly unfolding humanitarian disaster that will lead to only more pain and suffering for the people of Afghanistan,” Toomey said. “It’s incumbent upon the United States to ensure a swift and safe evacuation of American citizens, along with our Afghan partners fleeing the Taliban.”
Biden is getting blistering criticism from Republican lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a York County Republican.
Perry, who served in the military for nearly 40 years, assailed what he called “the abdication of leadership from the Biden Administration.”
“I’ve said from the beginning that, while pulling out of Afghanistan is necessary, it needed to be in a responsible, conditional, and phased approach,” Perry said in a statement. “This debacle doesn’t come close. At the very least, America earned the right to maintain a counter-terrorism presence in Afghanistan; we just lost that capability as well.”
After Biden addressed the nation Monday, Republican U.S. Rep. John Joyce chided the president and what he called “a failed attempt to absolve himself and his administration of the brutal realities of the situation in Afghanistan.”
“His failure to make our withdrawal orderly has led to violence and destruction that puts our national security, and American lives, at risk,” said Joyce, R-Blair County.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Lancaster County Republican, said the scenes out of Afghanistan will be long remembered.
“President Biden and his administration have failed the American and Afghan people by completely miscalculating the strength of the Taliban and failing to prepare for the withdrawal of our nation’s armed forces,” Smucker said. “Our nation is put at greater risk for future terrorist attacks with the Taliban ruling. The Afghan people and the world will suffer the consequences for years to come due to the renewed ruling of this region by jihadists.”
U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat who represents Chester County and part of Berks County, said, “It’s not enough to say I’m heartbroken - I’m gutted.”
“These past few days have been difficult to process, and not because the Taliban’s progress was surprising,” Houlahan said in a statement. “In fact, the opposite. We sounded the alarm, and our dire warnings fell on deaf ears.”
Houlahan is an Air Force veteran and noted she has cousins in the military on active duty.
“Regardless of whether or not you agree with the Administration’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces, we cannot lose sight of where we do agree: our partners in Afghanistan who stood up to tyranny in hopes of a brighter tomorrow have earned our sustained commitment,” Houlahan said. “We have tools to stem the violence, support displaced people, and safeguard those who supported the U.S. and allies efforts. We must use them. I have urged President Biden to do so and will continue until our Afghan allies are safe.”
U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, a Lehigh County Democrat, offered condolences to Gold Star families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan. And she said she feared for the fate of Afghan citizens, particularly those who aided Americans.
“The chaos in Afghanistan is a tragedy, and I have serious concerns about the speed with which the government collapsed and the clear intelligence failures around the fall of Kabul,” Wild said in a statement.
“But let’s be clear – the decades-long war could not continue, and it is long past time to wind down the U.S. footprint in Afghanistan. We cannot democratize the world using military might alone, nor can we pretend that American service members should be sent into impossible situations with no exit strategy.”
U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, a Democrat from Delaware County, said in a statement the situation in Afghanistan “is absolutely devastating.”
“Sadly, the tragedy unfolding today is the culmination of conditions and events set in motion long ago, in a conflict where the United States was never able to develop a successful long-term strategy,” she said. “The United States’ presence in Afghanistan is now coming to an end in a way that no American would have hoped for, especially after the loss of so many lives — both military and civilian.”
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