Area lawmakers’ reactions to the U.S.’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has fallen along party lines.
18th District Congressman Darin LaHood says that the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the fall of the Afghan government is disappointing but expected. LaHood says that President Joe Biden has ignored warnings about a hasty pull-out from the country would cause chaos. LaHood blames Biden for Afghanistan’s return to a pre-September 11th condition.
13th District Congressman Rodney Davis spoke in similar tone, saying that Biden was attempting to score points politically rather than take stock of what Davis called a “humanitarian crisis” unfolding in Afghanistan.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin answered with just the opposite, saying that Biden understands the history of Afghanistan and was fulfilling the withdrawal agreement by former President Donald Trump to have American troops out of the country by this year. Durbin says the cost of the war in money and lives was not sustainable. Durbin accuses Republicans of hypocrisy since they echoed Trump’s call for an even faster withdrawal from the country within the last two years.