Tenney Issues Statement on Fall of the Afghan Government and President Biden's Failed Leadership

Washington D.C. – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) released the following statement regarding Biden's reckless retreat from Afghanistan, the fall of the Afghan Government, and the capture of Kabul by the brutal Taliban.

“Today is a sad day for our nation. Our enemies are jeering, our allies are reevaluating their relationships with us, and our President is nowhere to be found,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “The American people are demanding answers and accountability for the military, intelligence, and political decision-making failures that led to President Biden's disastrous and shameful retreat. The President bears full and direct responsibility for the current chaos and the obvious, horrifying ramifications of leaving U.S. personnel and partners vulnerable and abandoning valuable military hardware to the brutal Taliban.

“President Biden and his administration lied to the American people, telling us just days ago that the Afghan military was well-equipped to defend the nation from a Taliban insurgency,” Congresswoman Tenney continued. “We were promised by the President that Kabul would not be another Saigon, yet the harrowing images of our diplomatic facility being evacuated by helicopter proves otherwise. Sadly, this may turn out to be far worse than Saigon. China was waiting in the wings potentially plotting this offensive with the Taliban and offering its support, while our President operated from a position of utter weakness. The Biden retreat will be studied for generations to come as an example of exactly how not to manage a military withdrawal and project weakness to America’s adversaries.

“President Biden has put American and allied troops in harm’s way. The Commander in Chief must come forward now to explain to the American people and our allies how his strategy failed so catastrophically and what his plan is for protecting our nation moving forward," Congresswoman Tenney concluded. "We must hear from him immediately to restore faith in the Office of the President and regain our credibility around the world."

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Tenney visited Afghanistan twice as a Member of Congress to meet with American troops as well as U.S. and Afghan military and government officials. Tenney is the mother of an active-duty Marine officer. 

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