Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) on Wednesday called for the Biden administration to face a congressional commission on the botched Afghanistan withdrawal that led to the death of 13 American service members, in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News.
“I think it’s time to get to the bottom of what has happened in Afghanistan and the debacle that has resulted in the deaths of thirteen of our bravest service members, and the leaving of Americans behind enemy lines,” Hartzler said. “Americans deserve answers.”
Hartzler sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) calling on them to dissolve the “partisan” commission on the events surrounding January 6, 2021, and form a non-partisan 9/11-style commission to investigate the withdrawal.
The Missouri congresswoman said she personally wants to know why Bagram Airfield was abandoned before all Americans and Special Immigrant Visa holders were brought out and why there was no plan to get them all out before the U.S. troops’ withdrawal.
She also wants to know what steps the State Department is taking to ensure that stranded Americans are able to return home, and if there is truth to the reports that a predator drone had on-target the ISIS bomber that killed the 13 American service members and about 200 Afghans, and that the U.S. could have taken him out before he arrived at the Kabul airport and detonated his suicide vest.
“This is the largest most significant foreign policy failure in a generation and possibly America’s history. And it’s imperative that we get to the bottom of why they made the decisions they did,” she said of the Biden administration,
“It is imperative that we learn the lessons of the mistakes that were made by the administration, so that we never see this happen again, but also so that we take steps going forward to ensure America’s safety,” she said.
She said there is a real security concern about ISIS terrorists coming to the homeland to conduct attacks.
“We know that ISIS-K has called for lone wolf attacks here in America. We are approaching the 9/11 anniversary on Saturday and I’m concerned about the safety of our nation and that’s why we’ve got to focus on the botched Afghanistan withdrawal and get to the bottom of this,” she said.
She said the disastrous withdrawal has also weakened American credibility on the world stage:
We have China already speaking very aggressively towards Taiwan and saying, ‘Look, the Americans didn’t stand by Afghanistan. They’re not going to stand by you either. We are going to take you over. You will become part of China.’ And I’m very concerned about the the threats that are possible with Russia in Ukraine. And Kim Jong-un is, is once again pursuing a nuclear bomb.
“And so we’re in a very weakened position on the world stage and that is not good for us or any of our allies,” she said.
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