Withdrawal from Afghanistan Jeopardizes U.S. Stature, Safety, Says O’Neal

August 16, 2021

WASHINGTON – Rep. Tim O’Neal (R-Washington) made the following statement after President Joe Biden’s announcement that the United States military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Tuesday, Aug. 31. The United States and allied forces invaded and occupied the country in 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks, with the resulting war becoming the country’s longest military engagement.

“As a combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I find it painful to watch scenes of evacuation and surrender to the same Taliban that visited unprecedented terror on the United States and will now be in power in time for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“No one expected the United States to remain in Afghanistan indefinitely, but no one expected our government to essentially hand the country over to the same cadre of monsters who terrorized their own people. The absence of an orderly plan and the silence of our own president makes a foreign policy failure that will threaten our stature in the world as well as our safety at home.

“It is crucial that the Biden administration explain how it arrived at this juncture and how it plans to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a state sponsor of terror. The president owes that to the victims of 9/11 and to those of us who took to the field of battle to avenge them.”

The 48th Legislative District in Washington County includes the city of Washington; Chartiers, North Franklin, North Strabane and South Strabane townships; and Canonsburg, East Washington and Houston boroughs.

Representative Tim O’Neal
48th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Tracy Polovick
717.260.6358
tpolovick@pahousegop.com
RepONeal.com / Facebook.com/RepTimONeal