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Democrats block vote to require Biden to rescue all Americans, military equipment abandoned in Afghanistan

Democrats block vote to require Biden to rescue all Americans, military equipment abandoned in Afghanistan 1

WASHINGTON, DC – House Republicans are demanding accountability for the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Freedom Caucus is demanding the President resign.

President Biden’s plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by an August 31 deadline fell into chaos after Afghan security forces collapsed and the Taliban took hold of the country.

Biden’s plan left thousands of Americans and allied Afghans scrambling to escape the country before the deadline, and American military forces were forced to withdraw, leaving massive stockpiles of weapons and unknown numbers of Americans and Afghans who aided in the war effort behind.

In the logjam that formed at Kabul Airport, ISIS-K terrorists detonated two suicide bombs, killing nearly 160 Afghans and 13 American service members.

On Tuesday, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, attempted to bring a bill up for consideration during a pro forma session of the House to demand answers about President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

House Republicans also wanted to read the names of the 13 fallen service members into the record on the House floor.

Included in the bill was a request for the plan the administration has to get over 100 American citizens left behind in Afghanistan back home, a demand for an inventory of all equipment left behind, and transparency on any deals reached between the Taliban and the administration.

The bill also states that Congress believes the Taliban should not be recognized as the official government of Afghanistan.

The Democratic House chairman refused to recognize the Republicans and gaveled out the session without further action.

“How can you not read the names?” one member yelled. Another exclaimed: “Turn your back on our country.”

The move by the Democrat-controlled House did not surprise Republicans. The attempt to introduce the bill was primarily symbolic and was intended to gather support for the bill when the House returns to session on September 20.

At a press conference held following the session, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said:

“We listened to Gen. McKenzie say, ‘American troops have left Afghanistan, but we did not get out everybody we wanted to get out.’

“I heard the Pentagon say, ‘The time just wasn’t there to get more Americans out.’

“But let me be crystal clear. This isn’t the U.S. government’s timeline. It’s the Taliban’s timeline.”

The last American troops departed Afghanistan on August 30, minutes before the deadline set by President Biden. After the withdrawal of American troops was completed, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby acknowledged that American citizens were left behind:

“Americans and other individuals that want to be able to leave Afghanistan after our withdrawal is complete, the State Department is going to continue to work across many different levers to facilitate that. We do not anticipate a military role in that.”

McCarthy then called out Speaker Nancy Pelosi for allowing the House to end the session with consideration of the bill:

“Now is not the time to act like you could not see us on the floor. Now is not the time to hide. We are a co-equal branch.”

McCarthy said that the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal was a massive failure:

 “I believe right now we should get every American home. I believe there should be accountability for what I — what I see is probably the biggest failure in American government on the military stage in my lifetime.”

He followed up with:

“We can never make this mistake again.”

In a Tweet the same day, McCarthy wrote:

“Democrats just blocked a vote to require a plan from President Biden to bring Americans home and to account for all the military equipment he left behind.

“Republicans will not stop until every American is home safely.”

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY) said he plans to call the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to brief Congress on the failed withdrawal:

“Committee Republicans invited the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction to brief Congress today, and I appreciate his willingness to come forward and his commitment to testify before the full Committee in the coming weeks.”

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Rep. Kim Young (R-CA) tweeted that she will not give up on Americans left behind:

“No one left behind means NO ONE left behind. We left hundreds of Americans and more of our allies to the mercy of the Taliban.

“It didn’t have to be this way. I will keep pressing the Biden administration on how we let this happen.”

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) has been in constant contact with Americans stranded in Afghanistan. He said the administration should be ashamed:

“The State Department should be ASHAMED! My team is STILL working around the clock to try and help constituents get out of Afghanistan because the State Department had no problem leaving them behind. They’re useless!”

Rep. Jackson also successfully added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which was passed out of committee today. The amendment prohibits the Biden administration from passing American money or goods to the Taliban:

“My amendment to STOP Biden from transporting American money or any other item of value to the Taliban PASSED & is included in the NDAA.

“Biden has been coordinating with Taliban TERRORISTS already & I’m NOT going to sit around to see how bad it’ll get!”

President Biden defended his withdrawal plan again on Tuesday during an address to the nation:

“Let me be clear, leaving August the 31st, is not due to an arbitrary deadline. It was designed to save American lives.”

Biden praised the American military for their “extraordinary success” in the withdrawal, and blamed the Afghan security forces and the Afghan government for the collapse of the country and rapid takeover by the Taliban:

“So, we were left with a simple decision. Either follow through on the commitment made by the last administration and leave Afghanistan or say we weren’t leaving and commit to another tens of thousands more troops going back to war.

“That was the choice, the real choice. Between leaving or escalating. I was not going to extend this forever war. And I was not extending a forever exit.”

The President surprisingly claimed that getting most Americans out of Afghanistan was a success and that the government was working to get more out:

“The bottom line, 90% of Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave were able to leave. And for those remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to get them out if they want to come out.”

President Biden did not explain how the Americans would be removed from the country now that U.S. forces are not present.

The White House did issue a correction, saying the President was wrong. The White House said 98% of Americans were evacuated from Afghanistan, which still leaves 2% behind.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the President broke his promise by leaving Americans behind:

“Two weeks ago, President Biden specifically promised he wouldn’t pull out before every American who wanted out had gotten out. By their own admission, the Biden Administration has now broken that promise.”

The House Freedom Caucus backed resolutions introduced Tuesday saying that President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley should resign over the failed withdrawal.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said:

“We call upon, most somberly, the resignation of this president, Joe Biden.”

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) sponsored the resolution with 25 other members signed on. Higgins said:

“Calling for the resignation (is) the appropriate step prior to pursuing impeachable offenses, which has occurred. But there’s a level of compassion that underlies everything that we do regarding President Biden because some of us, myself included, many Americans on both sides of the aisle have recognized a change in his behavior.”

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