'Humiliating' And 'Heartbreaking': U.S. Representatives From Colorado React To Taliban Takeover Of Afghanistan
(CBS4) -- U.S. Representatives from Colorado had two distinct responses to the fall of Afghanistan, as citizens there flooded runways at the airport in Kabul, halting the U.S. military's evacuation efforts.
Taliban leaders marched into Kabul Sunday, preparing to take full control of Afghanistan two decades after they were removed by the U.S. military.
Some lawmakers from Colorado urged the government to focus on evacuating U.S. personnel and our Afghan partners, while others criticized it as a "humiliating" foreign policy failure by President Joe Biden.
"This is worse than Saigon and the most humiliating and disastrous event in a career of foreign policy fiascos by Joe Biden," Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) tweeted Monday.
"As a son of refugees, these images from Afghanistan are heartbreaking," U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) tweeted. "Now is the moment to expand asylum for those who need it most. The U.S. government must honor it's word and ensure our Afghan partners are evacuated."
"Maybe the White House should've been focused more on Afghanistan withdraw strategy instead of playing with TikTok influencers," U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) tweeted Monday, with a video showing the chaos at the airport.
"My heart has broken. Like most vets, I left part of me in AFG," U.S. Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO)tweeted Monday. "Later we'll debate the failures of last 20 yrs, but today our mission is clear: hold the airport as long as possible and get ALL U.S. citizens and as many Afghan partners out as we can."
"Joe [Biden] has a 48 year history of making bad decisions," U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) tweeted Sunday. "Add this weekend's foreign policy decisions to the list."
"Wait a minute," Rep. Crow responded on Monday. "A few weeks ago you were 1 of only 16 members of Congress who voted against my bill to expand and speed up the visa program to evacuate and save our Afghan partners."
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) had not yet issued a public comment at the time this was published.
Monday afternoon, Pres. Biden acknowledged that Afghanistan fell more quickly than expected, but defended his decision.
"After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces," the president said.
