Afghanistan situation a 'human tragedy' and 'disaster,' SC congressional members say

Aug. 16—COLUMBIA, S.C. — With the Taliban finalizing its control over Afghanistan, South Carolina's Republican members of Congress went on offense and criticized President Joe Biden for withdrawing U.S. troops without a plan to remove allies in place.

Republican U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott and U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman, Tom Rice, William Timmons and Joe Wilson took aim at the Biden administration over the weekend and Monday as it worked to fulfill its goal of withdrawing all American troops from the Middle Eastern country by Sept. 11.

As of Monday afternoon, U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia, had not publicly issued a comment on Afghanistan.

Biden planned to speak to the American people Monday afternoon about the ongoing situation in Afghanistan.

Representatives call withdrawal 'tragic'

South Carolina's U.S. House members largely jabbed the Biden administration for leaving Afghanistan without a plan in place.

"The haphazard withdrawal of American Forces implemented by the Biden Administration has created a human tragedy," Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, said in a statement. "If they had a strategy, it was fatally flawed and without plans for contingencies."

Rice said former presidents George Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump all wanted to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, but understood there needed to be a strategy for a peaceful transition. He said Biden has "embarrassed America on the international stage."

"Tens of thousands of Afghans will pay the price for their tragic failure," Rice said in a statement.

Freshman Mace, R-Daniel Island, said troops should not have been withdrawn without a plan.

"My thoughts on the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan tonight: Most people agree, we've got to bring our troops home, but for our brave men & women in uniform, we cannot do this without a clear plan and exit strategy and most certainly not one that presents uncertainty & danger," Mace tweeted.

Mace thanked military members and families whose loved ones fought in Afghanistan over the last 20 years.

"The question I'm struggling with this weekend is what was all this for?" Mace tweeted. "God bless those in Afghanistan tonight, I pray we get you home safely."

Wilson, R-Springdale, meanwhile, said the withdrawal of U.S. troops has "put us right back where we started, taking so many sacrifices for granted in the process.

"President #Biden has abandoned the women of Afghanistan and our Afghan partners to be murdered by the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies," Wilson tweeted. "This turn of events has now put American families at home at risk."

Others focused on what the withdrawal means for Americans at home.

"The Taliban has taken over Bagram airbase, freed thousands of prisoners, many of whom are considered terrorists, and the Afghan president has fled the county," Timmons, R-Greenville, posted on Facebook.

Timmon's called the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan a "preventable disaster that will have dangerous ramifications for not only the Afghan people but also U.S. national security at home and abroad."

Norman, R-Rock Hill, tweeted that Afghanistan will "become a terrorist breeding ground from which our worst nightmares will emerge."

Senators say withdrawal sends 'toxic signal'

On the Senate side, Scott, a North Charleston Republican, laid the blame for the Taliban resurgence at Biden's feet.

"A hasty withdrawal without proper planning or protections for Americans & our allies in the region demonstrates a clear failure of leadership," tweeted Scott, who is running for reelection in 2022 and rumored to be a potential 2024 presidential candidate. "These actions have sent a toxic signal to our allies around the globe as the whole world watches."

Republican Graham, of Seneca, called the Taliban's takeover "a sad and dangerous event for U.S. national security interests and the wold at large."

"Jihadists all over the world are celebrating this event," Graham said.

Graham said recent events in Afghanistan could lead to a revival of al-Qaeda, an extremist terrorist group founded by Osama Bin Laden. Graham called the withdrawal "a calamity" and a "disaster."

"In addition, it is only a matter of time until al-Qaeda reemerges in Afghanistan and presents a threat to the American homeland and western world," Graham said in a statement. "President Biden seems oblivious to the terrorist threats that will come from a Taliban-run Afghanistan."

Graham added that the withdrawal will make American seem "weak in the eyes of our enemies and unreliable in the eyes of our allies."

Afghanistan is now mostly under the control of the Taliban, after the capital of Kabul fell to insurgent forces Sunday. The country's president fled and the Afghan government has largely collapsed.

The resurgence of the Taliban comes as the Biden administration has pushed to end the decades-long war in the Middle East, sparked by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. Biden sent 3,000 troops back to Afghanistan to help evacuate the U.S. Embassy and Afghan civilians who helped the United States.

But some also had sharp words for Congress. They included state Rep. Micah Caskey, a U.S. Marine veteran who served overseas in Iraq in 2004 and 2006 and Afghanistan in 2009.

"Members of Congress abdicated their war powers for the last 30 years and should be the very last people dancing on President Biden's failures today," the Lexington Republican tweeted. "You all failed. Keep your cheap political barbs and have a look in the mirror, cowards."

In a separate tweet, Caskey posted a photo of him sitting among Afghan men and children.

"Today, I cry," he tweeted. "I cry because so many deserved so much better. War is hell. May we all Rest In Peace."

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