Since announcing his plan to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden’s (D) decision has drawn sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle. Florida Rep. Michael Waltz (R), an outspoken critic of President Biden, offered a statement regarding the President’s announcement on Afghanistan and what the effects of that can mean.
In the statement, the U.S. Army Green Beret shared that it’s “encouraging to see the Biden Administration finally begin to focus on evacuating Afghan interpreters from Afghanistan so they can be processed through the Special Immigration Visa (SIV) program safely.” However, Waltz commented that the “time has run out.”
The Florida lawmaker further criticized Biden, arguing that “for months, the Biden Administration has failed to formulate a comprehensive plan while recklessly rushing a troop withdrawal that did not consider the safety of the Afghans who have fought “alongside American soldiers.”
He explained that “thousands of Afghan interpreters and their families eagerly await their fate while he clocks ticks,” adding that “as the Taliban continue to gain strength and ground, they are hunting down those who stood with America in our fight against global terror.”
“President Biden’s claim that half of Afghans approved for SIV have chosen to come to America does not comport with what we are hearing on the ground,” Waltz said, and he called “on the White House, Department of Defense, Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security to provide briefing immediately to members of congress so we can understand the scope of the evacuation and ongoing SIV vetting.”
All troops are expected to have returned home by September 11th.
