On Thursday, two Members of Congress from opposite sides of the political aisle, who are both veterans, discussed President Biden’s approach to our catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
On the Fox News segment America Reports, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) spoke in a joint interview to dissect Biden’s mishandling of evacuating American allies from Afghanistan, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s statement on trusting the Taliban, and the horrific images of Afghan citizens clinging onto the U.S. Air Force C-17s and falling in an attempt to escape Kabul.
To kick things off, Wenstrup reacted to a clip of Pelosi stating that “We have to make this [Afghanistan] the subject of the greatest transparency, shining the biggest, brightest light on what the Taliban may do. When people ask me, ‘do you trust them when they say ‘we’re not going to hurt women and the rest,’’ we’ll see, but we can’t take that chance.”
Host Sandra Smith noted that in early July, Biden was asked point blank if he trusted the Taliban, which he answered “no.” But, Smith said recent reports claim that Biden said the Taliban is cooperating with the United States, which infers that he could be trusting the Taliban after all.
Wenstrup shared his thoughts, saying that we need to look back and see what was being said at the White House and how it led to the Afghanistan withdrawal ending up in chaos.“I do think we need to look back and look at who said what,” Wenstrup said in the segment. “You can have a withdrawal in a methodical way. You have to be prepared for what may happen. And when it comes to the Taliban and trusting them, right now, it appears as though we are begging them to allow us to evacuate when they should be begging us to not harm them. And those are the types of conditions that can come with this type of event. When the U.S. left Vietnam, there was a deal made. And the takeover of Saigon did not happen until two more years. So, we need to know what is actually taking place and we need to be able to opine on the actions that are being taking place.”
Wenstrup added that 7,000 troops are pouring into Afghanistan, it “doesn’t seem like an exit,” or a “smooth exit,” at that.
Houlahan then responded to the graphic footage of Afghans falling from Air Force airplanes in a desperate attempt to escape Kabul as the Taliban took over. “Those are enormously alarming images that we’ve all seen,” Houlahan said in the segment. “And those images are the things that I would like to have answered, questions I look forward to hearing briefings both tomorrow and next week. I serve on both the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Armed Services Committee and I would like to understand how we got here.”
Houlahan continued, reinforcing Pelosi’s need for “transparency.” “I look forward to the opportunity to press, which is my mission, my mission of oversight, to make sure that we all collectively understand and we collectively have the transparency that we all deserve.”
To wrap-up, Wenstrup responded to a clip of the ABC News’ exclusive interview with President Biden where the president claimed top military advisers told him to carry through with removing all troops and leaving no residual force remaining in Afghanistan.
Wenstrup said he does not think the military advisers would have supported Biden's hasty withdrawal and removal of all troops. “The image of American morality is being tested and is not doing well,” Wenstrup said.“We need straight answers, because that did not sound like a straight answer to me.”
Watch the interview below:
WATCH: Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle - @RepHoulahan & @RepBradWenstrup join to discuss Biden's handling of the chaos happening in Afghanistan #AmericaReports pic.twitter.com/KEOf3aJxZN
— America Reports (@AmericaRpts) August 19, 2021