Sen. Cruz: President Biden Blames Everyone Except Himself for Afghanistan Catastrophe

HOUSTON, Texas - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement in response to President Biden's remarks on Afghanistan:

"President Biden's speech was a disappointing and divisive attempt to turn this moment of genuine crisis into partisan bickering. He even bizarrely blamed Afghan troops who fought and died alongside our troops for decades for his failure.

"The most urgent task facing the United States in Afghanistan is to ensure the safety and evacuation of American troops and civilians. Following their safe evacuation, Congress must begin a thorough investigation into how this catastrophe unfolded and provide the American people with an honest accounting of President Biden and his administration's intelligence analysis, policy decisions, and political calculations.

"I have long called for the U.S. to withdraw from Afghanistan. Wars must have ends. Multiple administrations failed to advance deliberative, vetted, and secure withdrawal. President Trump's administration pursued a plan for exactly such a withdrawal. But President Biden made a political decision to tear up that plan, along with so many other national security gains and victories from the Trump era.

"President Biden blamed President Trump, whose framework and deadlines Biden-Harris officials abandoned. He blamed the Afghan military in which he had put his ‘trust,' saying they lacked the will. He blamed everyone except himself. That's not the behavior of a leader.

"Today's speech was disappointing and disheartening. Our military men and women spent decades on the battlefields of Afghanistan, and they are owed an incalculable debt from all Americans as well as an explanation of what went wrong over recent weeks and months. The American public deserves that explanation as well."

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