We all watched in horror last summer as the images of Afghanis falling off airplanes turned into thirteen flag draped coffins at Dover Air Force Base.
The decisions to tell the Taliban exactly when we were going to leave, to give them billions of taxpayer dollars in military equipment, and to withdraw our troops before we evacuated American citizens and our allies will go down as some of the worst foreign policy choices in our nation’s history.
Regardless of your thoughts on the war itself, the disastrous manner in which we withdrew will forever be a stain on our country and it left the soldiers and civilians we have asked to serve the past 20 years feeling like their service has been in vain.
This is unacceptable and we must hold our elected officials accountable for this debacle so that none of our sons and daughters we put in harm’s way ever feel like the sacrifices they made, and blood spilled by them and their fellow soldiers was in vain.
The bungling of Afghanistan was a symbolic moment for many Americans in regards to the Biden administration as it got right to the heart of what we must expect and demand from our leaders – and that is competent and pragmatic decision-making.
Unfortunately, Afghanistan isn’t the only place we’re missing the mark.
As Joe Biden cozies up to the Chinese Communist Party and refuses to hold them accountable they continue their open human rights abuses, intellectual property theft, and trade violations against U.S. citizens and our government.
This administration’s never-ending desire to continue subsidizing Iran and their nuclear ambitions is another daily fight the legislative branch must have. The Iranian regime is a significant threat to both the United States and our top ally in the Middle East, Israel. They have funded terrorist groups that have killed American soliders, and chant “Death to America” in the streets. To send their radical regime another penny is unacceptable.
It is the duty of our leaders to keep us safe. It is also the duty of our government to be pragmatic and put our own interests before those of any other nation, whether it be in trade negotiations or staving off real or potential conflicts. While we have to be concerned about what’s going on around the world, our top focus should always be providing for liberty and domestic tranquility at home. The invade the world, invite the world approach over the last several decades hasn’t worked to our benefit. The foreign policy missteps we’ve seen out of Washington have shown that competent decision making and checks and balances are in greater need than ever before.
So many Virginia residents in the foreign service have seen their life’s work go for nought this past year. America’s place on the world stage must remain one of peace through pragmatic strength, and we should always put America’s interests first. Congress must hold the executive branch accountable to ensure that America has a rational, competent foreign policy and that we stand firm in our commitments to the ideals of freedom and human rights.
Original source can be found here.
