Senator Burr Statement on Collapse of Afghanistan Following President Biden's Withdrawal of U.S. Forces

Statement

Today, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), member and former Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement after President Biden's remarks regarding Afghanistan's fall to Taliban rule:

"I disagreed with President Biden's decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, concerned that this Administration, like the last, had not fully considered the consequences. It was my hope, however, that in exercising his right as Commander-in-Chief, the President would present Congress and the American people with a plan.

"It is now abundantly clear there was no plan.

"Determined to follow an arbitrary timeline based on messaging rather than military priorities, this Administration's callous negligence directly contributed to this catastrophic failure. In fact, the only person who seems to believe this situation couldn't have been prevented is the President who bears responsibility for it.

"President Biden wanted to see U.S. forces leave Afghanistan before September 11th. On his watch, we left our allies to fend for themselves, left a growing humanitarian crisis, left our credibility in tatters, and left our promises broken. What we won't be able to leave behind is the inherent shame of abandoning those who have helped us."

On April 13, 2021, Senator Burr raised concerns that the Biden Administration made its decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan "without fully considering the consequences" regionally and globally.

At the time, Senator Burr called on the President to articulate his plan for an organized withdrawal, saying, "[i]t's incumbent on this Administration to tell Congress and the American people how it intends to withdraw U.S. forces, the timeline and reasoning behind it, and whether and how it intends to maintain a U.S. diplomatic presence in Kabul moving forward."

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