LANGHORNE, PA – Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) released the following statement following President Biden’s address on the crisis in Afghanistan:

“The President told us today that al-Qaeda no longer has a safe haven in Afghanistan. He is wrong. By his reckless decision, he has put countless women and young girls at risk. Thousands of terrorists have been freed from prison. Terrorists have been provided with a better safe haven than they’ve ever had. Al-Qaeda is now better equipped than they were before 9/11. 

I served our nation as an FBI Counterterrorism Agent and as an al-Qaeda interrogator in Iraq. Maintaining a special ops footprint of a few thousand could have avoided all of this. The President's decision will go down as one of the worst foreign policy decisions in American history. As a result of this decision, America is less safe now than we were pre-9/11. 

Equally sickening, the Administration has sent a message to the world that America lacks staying power. China has taken note. Iran has taken note. Russia has taken note. North Korea has taken note. The President has made our job on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence even more challenging than it was before. This naïve view of national and international security must end now. Our Intelligence Committee stands ready to work with the Administration to protect America from the evils of terrorism. We hope that they are willing to work with us. 

To all of our hero veterans, you have kept America safe from terrorism for 20 years. We honor you and we love you. And we will continue to defend your honor and your service, no matter what.”

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