Capitol Hill reacts to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan falling

Sunday morning, news broke that the United States Embassy in Afghanistan had been evacuated, and the American flag had been lowered from the embassy. It was upsetting news for many on Capitol Hill. 

Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) served in the United States Air Force in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Following the news of the embassy evacuation, he issued a statement saying in part, “This is the result of a shortsighted, weak, and utter failure of both the previous White House and the current Administration. The naïve Trump Administration legitimized the Taliban by having ‘talks’ with them about peace and openly negotiating with terrorists, while the Biden Administration tried to fulfill a campaign promise without any semblance of a plan or forethought into how this would play out.”

Rep. Kinzinger wasn’t the only person on Capitol Hill focusing on past administrations. In a series of tweets, Aaron Fritscher, the communications director for Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), wrote, “It is a statement of fact that American journalists have referred to the current President having had a “mission accomplished” moment more times than they have referred by name to the president who said those words and who launched the invasion of Afghanistan two decades ago.”

I just looked up how many times George W. Bush has been mentioned on cable, in press write-ups, and on this website in connection with Afghanistan over the past week, and my friends, this disappearing act puts Keyser Söze to shame https://t.co/MCOBXMnpiL

— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) August 16, 2021

Both sides of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also weighed in on the situation. The Democrats focused their tweet on safe evacuations.

As the Taliban advances & rule of law crumbles in Afghanistan, the US must prioritize evacuating the most vulnerable. Swift & immediate action is paramount to ensure the safety of our troops, diplomats & women and civil society activists.

— Senate Foreign Relations Committee (@SFRCdems) August 15, 2021

The Ranking members of the committee instead focused on how this development could be remembered in history.

The security situation in #Afghanistan has deteriorated far more rapidly than the Biden Admin. wanted the world to believe. This failure to defend our hard fought gains & no plan to protect the Afghanis who fought alongside our troops all these years will long be remembered.

— Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member (@SenateForeign) August 13, 2021

Both parties had similar talking points on the Sunday shows as well.

House Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) went on Face the Nation Sunday, saying, “It seems like many in President Biden’s intelligence community got this devastatingly wrong. And I think a lot of questions will be asked later about why just weeks ago they were saying something completely different than what we’re seeing today on the ground in Afghanistan.”

On NBC’s Meet the Press, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had given Afghanistan the tools it needed to succeed. Speaking with Chuck Todd, Blinken said, “We invested, the international community invested, over 20 years, billions of dollars in these forces. 300 thousand of them, with an air force, something the Taliban didn’t have, with the most modern sophisticated equipment. Unfortunately, tragically they have not been able to defend the country and I think that explains why this has moved as quickly as it has moved.”