A year after the fall of Kabul, questions remain about the "total lack of planning and abysmal execution" of the United States pullout from Afghanistan, Rep. Michael Waltz told Newsmax.
"We have Americans behind Taliban lines," the Florida Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "We have our allies hunted down, as we have an ongoing mass famine. Our credibility is ruined. Our equipment has been left behind and al-Qaida is back in Kabul, back in Afghanistan like it was before 2001."
And, Waltz said that Congress must get to the bottom of why these things happened, along with why vital assets were surrendered to the Taliban.
"Bagram Air Base was basically just handed over to the Taliban," said Waltz. "It's a strategic asset, the only base in the world that is sandwiched between China, Russia, and Iran. It's closer to the Chinese border than Mexico City is to the Texas border, and I can promise you that the Chinese government wouldn't have given away a strategic air base like that."
However, there has been nobody in the Biden administration or the State Department who has been disciplined, resigned, or relieved of duty after the fall of Afghanistan, as there is "zero accountability" in place, said Waltz.
"Even the defense minister of Denmark, the foreign minister of the United Kingdom, was forced out over this absolute debacle, but in this administration, we have the commander-in-chief standing before the world, saying it was an extraordinary success," said Waltz.
The debacle has also been a "slap in the face" to veterans, and many are working with grassroots organizations to get people out of Afghanistan, said Waltz.
"Many of them have exhausted their savings," he said. "Many of them have quit their jobs because we believe in our core that you never leave an American behind … yet they're getting zero, zilch, nothing in terms of answers or accountability from this administration. A year later, and there are still Americans behind enemy lines in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan."
The withdrawal has also affected the United States' standing in the world, said Waltz.
"The great power competition, like Russia, China, and Iran have their propaganda machines on overdrive to places like Taiwan, saying you better work with us because the Americans are unreliable, and the Americans will abandon you," said Waltz.
"At a smaller scale you have special operators in far-away countries all over the world trying to work with local allies, whether it's on counterterrorism missions or to try to keep an eye on what the Chinese are doing in the region," he added. "Everybody's pointing back to the abandonment in Afghanistan, so it's hurting us across the scale and our credibility has been severely damaged."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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