Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) delivered this week’s Republican Address, criticizing President Biden’s bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan starting with the initial abandonment of Bagram Air Base up through this week, when the last remaining troops exited Afghanistan, leaving Americans and Afghan allies behind.
Green, who represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional district, served in Iraq and Afghanistan before assuming office in the Tennessee State Senate in 2012. His experiences serving in combat were threaded through his address, as he felt Biden’s handling of our Afghanistan withdrawal was “deeply personal.”
“Our so-called Commander-in-Chief is abandoning Americans, our Afghan allies, and members of NATO who only came to Afghanistan to help us,” Green opened. “We are in a crisis of leadership. President Joe Biden has failed.”
Included in the address were harsh criticisms of Biden’s August 31 deadline, the abandonment of U.S. military equipment in now Taliban-controlled territory, and Biden’s suggestion that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) chose their fate under the Taliban.
Abiding by Biden’s arbitrary August 31 deadline, all remaining U.S. troops departed Afghanistan leaving American citizens and allies behind enemy lines – an approach Green described as “shameful.” Biden himself stated in an interview with George Stephanopoulos that troops would not leave Afghanistan until all Americans had been evacuated.
“In war, we make a commitment to leave no one behind. Pulling our troops out of Afghanistan before every American citizen is out goes against every fiber of America’s national character. This is shameful,” Green stated. “Joe Biden’s arbitrary Aug. 31 deadline must be extended until the mission is complete.”
Green then touched on the fact that billions of dollars worth of American military equipment was left behind in Afghanistan for the Taliban to seize. This, along with their rapid rise to power, will “once again make Afghanistan a haven for terrorists,” Green said.
Furthermore, Green squashed Biden’s insinuation that the Afghan troops chose their fate, recalling his personal experiences in Afghanistan as a flight surgeon, treating members of the Afghan Security Forces.
“I served in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as a flight surgeon. I deployed to Afghanistan and witnessed the bravery of the Afghan Security Forces — so many of whom gave their lives fighting for a free Afghanistan. I treated these guys on the battlefield, I held them in my arms as they bled,” Green said in the address. “I am utterly disgusted that President Biden would blame these brave warriors for the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan rather than his botched withdrawal.”
To wrap up, Green recounted the men and women he’s known who gave the ultimate sacrifice serving in Afghanistan, adding that Biden’s disastrous execution of our withdrawal puts more of our men and women in uniform at risk. He called Biden’s poor planning throughout “despicable,” and his decision to abandon American citizens “weak and feckless.”
“This lack of leadership is despicable and will only embolden our enemies,” Green concluded. “As Americans, we must put duty, honor, and country over a political agenda. And we must leave no one behind.”
Watch the full address below:
The Biden administration’s bad planning is putting more of our men and women in uniform at risk. We are in a crisis of leadership—President Biden has failed.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) August 30, 2021
? Spot on from @RepMarkGreen, a veteran of Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/sswobe9lOh