By the Republican National Committee

THREE YEARS AFTER THE U.S. LEFT AFGHANISTAN, HARRIS AND BIDEN’S FAILURES HAVEN’T BEEN FORGOTTEN

• [Yesterday] mark[ed] the third anniversary of the tragic bombing of Abbey Gate in Kabul, Afghanistan, that cost the lives of thirteen U.S. servicemembers.
  • In that time, the Gold Star families of the heroes killed during Harris and Biden’s botched withdrawal have demanded answers and accountability.
    • Christina Shamblin, mother-in-law of fallen Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee: “When our leaders, including our secretary of defense and our Commander in Chief call this evacuation a success as if there should be celebration, it is like a knife in the heart for our families and for the people who came back.”
      • Christina Shamblin, mother-in-law of 23-year-old Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, has added that she’s supporting President Trump because the Harris-Biden administration has “turned their back on them.”
    • Cheryl Rex, whose son Marine Lance Cp. Dylan Merola died in the Kabul airport bombing: “I feel I deserve real answers, real truths, facts and for someone to be accountable for the failures that occurred, that took my son’s life.”
    • Darin Hoover, who lost his son Taylor Hoover, a 31-year-old Marine Corps staff sergeant in the attack, said he wants to ensure “what happened to our kids never happens again” by getting President Trump reelected. 
• Despite Harris’ “key role” in the administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal, she has failed to express any regret with her administration’s actions.
  • Harris was “front and center” throughout the withdrawal attending “most of [Biden’s] security briefings.”
  • According to Harris, she was the last person in the room with Biden when he decided to withdraw and has said “I do” when asked if she felt comfortable with the decision.
  • Harris made no mention of the thirteen U.S. servicemembers who lost their lives at Abbey Gate during her DNC acceptance speech to become the Democrat’s presidential nominee. 
• Instead of accepting responsibility for their decisions, the Harris-Biden administration has shamelessly attempted to brush off and downplay their Afghanistan disaster.
  • The Harris-Biden administration has defended the disastrous withdrawal as “the correct policy choice.”
  • As part of a news dump before Easter, in 2023, the Harris-Biden administration finally released a “watered-down, neutered” after-action report on the withdrawal of Afghanistan.
    • Despite delaying the release for months, then repeatedly dumping versions of it on holiday weekends, the Harris-Biden administration claims to have been “incredibly transparent” on the after-action report.
    • Then, the administration again “seemingly tried to bury” a declassified version of this report by releasing it late on a Friday before the long July 4th weekend.
• In the aftermath of the withdrawal, Harris even laughed when a reporter started asking about Americans still trapped during the withdrawal.
  • As many as 9,000 American citizens and 150,000 Afghans who assisted the United States were left behind in Afghanistan by the Harris-Biden administration.
• In recent years, reports have revealed that the Harris-Biden administration missed two chances to neutralize the terrorist network behind the Kabul Airport suicide attack that killed 13 troops at Abbey Gate.
  • The Islamic State operative who detonated the device at Abbey Gate had previously been detained at the Bagram prison until the Harris-Biden administration had U.S. troops and Afghans abandon it.
• The American people remember the lies Harris, Biden, and their administration told them over and over again, even if Harris and Biden refuses to admit the truth.
  • One national poll of veterans found, 73 percent have a negative view of the Harris and Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
  • 83 percent of veterans say they have been dissatisfied with the “lack of accountability from senior civilian and military officials in how they handled the withdrawal.”

THE AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL EMOLDENED OUR ENEMIES AND TERRORIST PROXIES ACROSS THE GLOBE

• Instead of an orderly withdrawal, the Harris-Biden administration left behind billions in U.S. military equipment for terrorists, the Taliban took over the country in just days, 13 U.S. servicemembers were killed, and Afghan women are now at the mercy of the ruthless and repressive Taliban.
• The Harris-Biden administration’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal has also emboldened our adversaries, embarrassed our allies, and undermined our standing in the international community. 
  • Al Qaeda issued a statement after the Taliban took Kabul calling it a “prelude” to other jihadi victories.
  • Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said the administration “accept[ed] a historic failure” and suggested it showed the U.S. is not actually committed to Israel’s security.
  • Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen suggested Taiwan could not rely on the U.S. anymore, saying Taiwan’s “only option is to grow stronger and become more united.”
  • Chinese propaganda outlets seized on the fall of Afghanistan as a sign that the U.S. would not defend Taiwan if attacked.
• Since the withdrawal, the Harris-Biden administration has provided more than $2.35 billion in taxpayer dollars to the Taliban government that took control of the country in 2021. 
• Under the Harris-Biden administration, terrorism is now spreading throughout West Africa as “groups that have declared allegiance to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State are on the march.”
• The Harris-Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal served as an inspiration to terrorist groups.
  • Defense Department estimates state that following the Afghanistan withdrawal, both Al Qaeda and ISIS-K are growing in strength and could pose a significant threat beyond Afghanistan.
  • ISIS-K recruited thousands of members in the fallout from the Afghanistan withdrawal, almost doubling in size in less than a year.
  • Al Qaeda is “actively” using Afghanistan as a safe haven to “plot and plan attacks against American interests and the American homeland.”
  • After the Taliban overran the Bagram Airfield prison that housed 5,000 inmates, they released senior Al Qaeda and Taliban members.
  • Retired General Frank McKenzie, who served as Commander of the U.S. Central Command, said the Harris-Biden administration’s withdrawal has limited America’s ability to provide warnings of violent extremist organizations threats from Afghanistan making America less safe. 
• In February 2021, the Harris-Biden administration revoked the terrorist designation applied to Iran-backed Houthis militants in Yemen.
  • Despite on-going Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, the Harris-Biden administration resisted re-designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization.

IF ELECTED, HARRIS’ POLICIES WOULD FURTHER WEAKEN AMERICA’S MILITARY

• Under the Harris-Biden administration, wokeness has been prioritized over training and combat effectiveness, as the United States faces a shortfall of troops coupled with a decline in military readiness.
  • American military readiness is vital as Putin has signed decrees to increase the size of Russian armed forces and China’s navy continues to surpass America as the largest fleet.
  • Americans’ confidence in the U.S. military hit its lowest in two decades under the Harris-Biden administration.
• The U.S. military has faced unprecedented recruiting difficulties under the Harris-Biden administration, partially due to the administration’s commitment to “woke policies” in the military.
  • The Navy missed its annual recruitment goal for the first time in its history in 2023 and is continuing to miss recruitment goals in 2024.
  • The Army is suffering the worst recruiting shortfall in five decades.
  • Due to a “shortfall in the FY23 Military Personnel Appropriation,” the Air Force has been forced to pause duty assignments and reenlistment and retention bonuses, as well as extend deployments.
• The Harris-Biden administration has repeatedly weakened the U.S. military through financial setbacks.
  • Between FY 2019 and FY 2023, the Army lost nearly $40 billion in buying power, and the FY 2024 budget request represents a 3.3 percent decrease from the previous year.
  • The U.S. Naval fleet is projected to remain below 300 ships until the late 2030s.
  • The U.S. Air Force is set to divest 1,468 aircraft over five years, leading to a net reduction of over 1,000 aircraft.
• The Harris-Biden administration’s latest budget request for the Defense Department fails to keep pace with inflation and includes major cuts planned for weapons modernization programs.
  • All the while, China is increasing its military budget by 7.2 percent for the second year in a row and experts have been clear that a 3 to 5 percent increase in Defense spending is necessary to counter the threat of China.
• The latest Harris-Biden budget request includes “deep cuts in a wide range of programs, delays to existing programs and slowing efforts to build weapons stocks.”
  • This includes an 18 percent cut in the number of F-35 jets the Pentagon orders, as well as cuts to an attack submarine, Army helicopters and drones, and Air Force overhead.
  • Space Force would see a $600 million budget cut compared to the Defense Department’s FY 2024 request.
  • Navy’s budget would retire 10 ships early and buy only six.
• Harris has consistently failed to support our military while serving in the Senate.
  • Harris voted against giving pay raises to the U.S. military.
  • Harris voted against funds for the U.S. military to procure new fighter jets and construct new battle force ships.
  • Harris voted against funds for the United States to co-produce missile defense systems with Israel.
  • Harris voted in favor of repealing the authorization for the use of military force, which was used under President Trump to fight terrorism across the globe.
  • Harris opposed the United States developing low yield nuclear weapons, claiming these weapons “will make us less safe by increasing the likelihood of a nuclear escalation.”

DESPITE READINESS CONCERNS, HARRIS AND BIDEN HAVE CHOSEN TO POLITICIZE OUR MILITARY

• The Harris and Biden administration has politicized America’s military, from ordering soldiers to stand as props to installing a woke leadership structure at the highest levels.
• On Harris and Biden’s watch, the Defense Department is injecting critical race theory into its education programs.
  • The Air Force Academy admits that “tenets of critical race theory” are taught in its classrooms and has curriculum which tells cadets to use gender inclusive terms and to avoid words like “mom and dad.”
• The Navy included far-left radical Ibram X. Kendi’s anti-American book “How to Be An Antiracist” on its 2021 reading list.
• The Army reduced its fitness standards in order to increase the number of women represented in the military, putting quotas ahead of troop training standards.
• Harris and Biden pushed a vaccine mandate on our military, firing service members with religious objections to further his political agenda.
• Harris and Biden have claimed to be “preparing the military by trying to deal with the climate stuff,” with his Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm expressing support for the U.S. military adopting an all-electric vehicle fleet by 2030.
  • Harris and Biden’s climate agenda will make the U.S. military reliant to China as many of the minerals essential to EV battery production are primarily mined and processed in China.

  Originally posted here.