Sen. Kennedy releases statement on Afghanistan

Published 8:39 am Wednesday, August 18, 2021

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On Tuesday evening, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) released a statement about President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Key excerpts are below:

“I am so sorry that all of our American soldiers who fought so valiantly (in Afghanistan) had to witness what we all saw, and what we saw was stunning incompetence.”

“President Biden chose to withdraw from Afghanistan, but there’s no reason it had to be so chaotic. We all saw it: The panic, the fear, the chaos, the abandonment of equipment, the scrambling to destroy unclassified documents and classified documents, thousands of Americans and our allies trapped behind Taliban lines, no plan for the refugees.”

“It was horrible, and this didn’t have to happen. The military and the intelligence community told President Biden that if he withdrew without a plan and too quickly, this was going to happen, but he did it anyway.”

“It was the biggest terrorist victory since 9/11, and Jihadists who want to hurt this country and its people all over the world are reinvigorated today. Our enemies — China and Russia — are laughing. And our veterans are crying, and I cry with them.”

Kennedy’s full statement can be viewed online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFpnWvUBNio.