Nevada lawmakers urge safe evacuation of US personnel from Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — Disturbing scenes of Afghans clinging to a departing military plane and the chaos of the U.S. withdrawal prompted one Nevada lawmaker to criticize the Biden administration Tuesday while all urged a safe evacuation of U.S. military and civilians.

Some in the Nevada congressional delegation supported President Joe Biden for carrying through with a withdrawal negotiated by the Trump administration for the removal of U.S. troops following two decades of armed battle in the war-torn country.

But Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said the president’s execution of the final withdrawal and the surprise fall of Kabul to Taliban fighters so quickly was an embarrassment to “Gold Star families, allies, veterans, women’s groups, you name it.”

Amodei offered a stinging rebuke of the withdrawal.

“And the fact we have left these dangerous people with our technology and equipment is another abject failure of policy, planning and execution,” he said.

“Certainly, we are all justified in expecting better from any administration regardless of its party,” Amodei said.

Regardless of party, all Nevada lawmakers said the evacuation of U.S. military and civilians was first and foremost of concern.

“It is critical we bring our personnel home safely,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Humanitarian visa urged

As events unfolded, a bipartisan group of senators joined by Nevada Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen urged administration officials at the State Department and Homeland Security to bring Afghans in imminent danger from the Taliban to the United States.

“This must include the evacuation of interpreters who served alongside our service members and the Afghan women leaders who have spent the past two decades promoting democracy and equality,” Cortez Masto said.

Senators called for a specific humanitarian visa for Afghan women leaders, activists, human rights defenders, parliamentarians, journalists and members of the Female Tactical Platoon of the Afghan Special Security Forces.

Rosen, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, recognized the military men and women who have served in Afghanistan, including members of the Nevada National Guard “and their families who have sacrificed so much.”

Pentagon and State Department officials briefed key lawmakers on the rapid takeover of Afghan cities and key military positions following the collapse of Afghan defense and security forces.

Rosen said Congress and the administration must go back to assess what occurred and determine “why we did not anticipate that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces would prove so ineffective in holding off the Taliban.”

The entire Nevada congressional delegation also said they were prepared to help constituents reach family members abroad and help people navigate the federal system as the evacuation continued.

A State Department spokesman in Washington on Tuesday said swift action was being taken to evacuate American citizens and those with special visas. Efforts also are underway to reach and help those in Kabul and instruct them on how to reach the airport.

In Miami, Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, issued a statement released by the White House that said protection of U.S. civilians and our partners is “my highest priority.”

“To that end, we are prepared to fully support U.S. Embassy efforts to process and evacuate U.S. citizens, partners, special visa applicants, and Afghans at risk,” McKenzie said.

Decision to withdraw defended

Meanwhile, Titus defended the decision to withdraw, first brokered by the Trump administration last year, and the Biden administration’s decision to follow through and remove U.S. troops from a 20-year combat mission.

Committing additional U.S. troops to the mission without a timeline for withdrawal “is something the American public has made clear it does not support,” Titus said.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., whose congressional district includes Creech Air Force Base and Nellis Air Force Base, paid tribute to all those who served in uniform in Afghanistan.

Many of the unmanned aerial vehicles, or military drones, used overseas are flown remotely by personnel at Creech.

“Throughout the war in Afghanistan, the airmen of Creech Air Force Base played an essential role as the eyes and ears of our deployed commanders,” said Horsford, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

“We owe a debt of thanks to Creech Airmen, their families, and all Nevada servicemembers for their sacrifices over the past two decades and their continued service to our nation,” Horsford said.

Meanwhile, with the focus on the evacuation, it remained clear that the ease in which the Taliban seized control, with the capture and use of American military hardware, weapons and gear, surprised the Biden administration and the president, who dismissed such a scenario just recently.

Amodei said the buck stops with the commander-in-chief, “with the inability to perceive and react professionally to being overrun in a country that we’ve been in for 20 years.”

Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the Senate seat held by Cortez Masto, said withdrawal in Afghanistan was overdue, but the president’s disorganized withdrawal “recklessly endangered American lives.”

In a tweet, Brown, who was wounded during his service in Afghanistan, called Biden’s leadership an “abject failure.”

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.