WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) released the following statement on President Biden’s decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by September 11th, 2021.
“The United States military’s mission in Afghanistan has evolved to be too broad, too unclear, and too costly. Now, two decades after the initial invasion, this war has cost the U.S. $2 trillion and nearly 2,400 American lives. We achieved our initial goal to defeat those who attacked us on 9/11. It’s time to bring our troops home. That’s why I unequivocally support President Biden’s announcement to withdrawal all U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
While the U.S. may be withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, our work is not done. We still have a responsibility to protect Afghans who’ve helped military forces over the past two decades and must prioritize clearing the backlog of translators and their families who are waiting for visas to leave Afghanistan. Abandoning these allies would be a humanitarian disaster and make it harder for the U.S. military to find on-the-ground assistance in the future.
The withdrawal of troops will have some negative effects, but it is better than continuing to spend billions of taxpayer dollars and sacrifice American lives. Our military resources must be focused on more urgent terrorist threats in other ungoverned spaces.
I have confidence in our intelligence community to ensure that a potential resurgence of terrorism in Afghanistan will not threaten Americans. Additionally, we will continue to support Afghan citizens through diplomatic and humanitarian means.
I offer a profound and heartfelt thanks to the thousands of service members who served tours in Afghanistan, as well as their families. We also owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to the nearly 2,400 military heroes, including dozens of Connecticut residents, who gave their lives to protect ours.”
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