Yesterday, thirteen names were added to the list of U.S. military casualties in the Afghan war. These young heroes were fighting to save lives from the chaos in and around Kabul.  We mourn them, along with the innocent lives of dozens of Afghan citizens. Our nation will take a heavy heart into the weekend and beyond.  We cannot delay inquiry however, into what has gone so horribly wrong in just a matter of weeks. 

In May of this year, just a month after President Biden announced a firm timeline for full withdrawal, U.S. and U.N. intelligence officials were reporting that Al Qaeda was maintaining strong ties to the Taliban. Our own Department of Defense had previously warned that Al Qaeda members had integrated into the Taliban command structure. And while ISIS and Al Qaeda may not be the closest of allies – they have teamed up in Africa and elsewhere, and it would be naïve not to assume they are likely to do so in Afghanistan.

Against this backdrop of known threats and predictable perils, the Biden Administration has seemingly gone off in five different directions at a critical time in our nation’s military history. While Biden and  Harris have been fretting about the size of infrastructure bills and climate hysteria, our military is wrapping up a two decade war under extreme duress. Americans are in peril, and we are leaving an entire country at the mercy of terrorists masquerading as legitimate officials.

President Biden and his administration have abandoned and failed the Afghans, our soldiers, and Americans on the ground at this most crucial moment. A shameful dereliction of duty on his part that has endangered the lives of thousands. 

We must contemplate the possibility that this administration knew how this would unfold and – never too enamored with American military power — deliberately determined that this woefully disorganized exit would neuter our peace-through-strength foreign policy. President Biden’s actions are inexcusable, and we must work to hold him fully accountable.