We are all watching the tragic developments in Afghanistan with sadness: in a matter of days, the Taliban has seized control of the nation — capturing all major cities just weeks before the United States was set to complete our troop withdrawal.

Soon, we will have to examine what went wrong in our withdrawal from Afghanistan. We can — and we must — understand why our information was flawed, and how we can prevent a crisis like this from happening again.

But right now, our top priority must be swiftly and safely evacuating Americans and Afghan allies out of the nation. The world must know that we stand with American citizens and service members, along with our allies who served alongside us for the last twenty years.

To all those who fought so bravely in Afghanistan: your service was not in vain. You brought Osama bin Laden to justice and protected our nation — and we will forever remain grateful for your sacrifice and service.

San Diego has one of the largest populations of post-9/11 veterans in the entire nation. So many of our friends and neighbors in our district stood up and answered the call to serve. We stand with them now and always.

If you’d like to write back, I’m here.

Thank you.

— Scott