The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs just weeks ago testified before Congress on President Biden’s plan to withdraw American troops and civilians, and assured U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn that a total takeover by the Taliban was unlikely.
And yet Kabul fell in just a matter of days.
The Taliban took over Bagram Air Base on Sunday where they released thousands of the war’s most hardened fighters, who now command millions of dollars worth of U.S. military hardware to threaten Afghan citizens and U.S. security interest.
In a @HASCRepublicans hearing, I asked @SecDef and Mark Milley if it was at all possible to maintain control of the airbase at Bagram. Milley directly told me “Bagram is not necessary tactically for what we are going to do in Afghanistan.”
Full clip here: https://t.co/UQngUVF4T5 https://t.co/uGfmPlYEtK
— Rep. Doug Lamborn (@RepDLamborn) August 16, 2021
In a statement to Colorado Politics, Lamborn warned the military equipment now in the Taliban’s hands includes armored vehicles, tactical aircraft and weapons from M-4 rifles to howitzers.
“When Saigon fell, the North Vietnamese never posed a threat to the homeland of the United States,” Lamborn said. “However, in this case, we know that Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups will attempt to take advantage of the failed state in Afghanistan.”
Lamborn called Biden’s exit strategy an historic failure of intelligence and planning by the president, as well as the Pentagon and intelligence community.
Joe Biden said we will not conduct a hasty withdrawal.
He said the Taliban would not overrun Kabul or take over Afghanistan.
He said we would not airlift people off the embassy roof.
Joe Biden says he bears no responsibility.
This is not Saigon. It’s worse. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/e85yHrQ3pA
— Rep. Doug Lamborn (@RepDLamborn) August 16, 2021
History will not be kind to the Biden administration or the Democrats who refuse to hold the president accountable to learn what went wrong.