Ocasio-Cortez Defends Biden's Afghan Withdrawal After Loss of 13 Americans: 'This Is War'
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York defended President Joe Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal after the loss of 13 American service members and over 160 Afghan civilians, saying, “This is war.”
“I don’t know what the measure or expectation is of what a ‘successful’ withdrawal is, but I hope people understand that this is what war looks like,” the Democrat said during an Instagram Live stream on Wednesday.
“It is not neat, and it is not pretty,” she continued. “It is violent. It is brutal. And we’re out here expecting like this is supposed to be a cakewalk. I mean this is war.”
The Aug. 26 attacks near the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul killed 182 people, including 169 Afghan civilians and 13 American service personnel, The Associated Press reported.
Many lawmakers have criticized Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, including GOP Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, both Afghan War vets.
“All of this was completely avoidable. That’s what makes me so angry watching these images,” Banks told Fox News the day of the attacks.
“The responsibility for this tragedy rests squarely on the shoulders of Joe Biden. His incompetence means American blood has been shed,” the congressman added in a Thursday statement.
Banks listed the closing of Bagram Airfield and the withdrawal of all U.S. troops, including Special Operations forces, as some major blunders made by the Biden administration.
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Cotton told Fox News Tuesday, “Joe Biden promised the Taliban that America would leave by August 31. Joe Biden promised American citizens in Afghanistan he would stay until he got them out.”
“When the rubber hit the road, Joe Biden kept his promise to the Taliban and broke his promise to Americans,” he added.
Sen. Tom Cotton: “Joe Biden promised the Taliban that the United States would leave by August 31. He also promised American citizens he would stay until he got them out.”
“In the end, Joe Biden kept his promise to the Taliban and broke his promise to Americans.” pic.twitter.com/KmmBdGvY3k
— tomorraw.com (@tomorrawdotcom) August 31, 2021
On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez accused those criticizing Biden of doing military contractors’ bidding.
In case you’re wondering why people are going on TV relentlessly attacking Biden for his courageous decision to leave Afghanistan when no other president would, here’s one glimpse as to why.
War is addictive for the few who reap its profits, while the rest of us foot the bill. https://t.co/jOtKPtRWGv
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 1, 2021
“In case you’re wondering why people are going on TV relentlessly attacking Biden for his courageous decision to leave Afghanistan when no other president would, here’s one glimpse as to why. War is addictive for the few who reap its profits, while the rest of us foot the bill,” she tweeted.
The Associated Press reported the number of troops in Afghanistan reached their highest level of approximately 100,000 under former President Barack Obama in 2010.
The level dropped to 2,500 by the time former President Donald Trump left office in January.
Prior to the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate attacks at the Kabul airport last week, no American service members had been killed in combat in Afghanistan since February 2020.
