[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6529-S6530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              AFGHANISTAN

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, we are back in session after a busy 
August, and we are hitting the ground running in the U.S. Senate.
  This week, congressional committees have heard from top Biden 
administration officials about the disastrous withdrawal of our troops 
from Afghanistan. In the months to come, there will be more questions 
about the decisions that led to the collapse of that country and how 
the administration plans to protect the American people from terrorist 
threats moving forward.
  You know, the whole premise of our going to Afghanistan in the first 
place was to deny vacuums that could be filled by terrorist 
organizations like 
al-Qaida and ISIS and thus represent a threat to the homeland not only 
of people in Europe and in the region but also

[[Page S6530]]

to the people here in the United States. Some called 9/11/2001 a 
failure of imagination because we never imagined that terrorists 
overseas would plan and execute a terrorist attack that would kill 
3,000 Americans using 2 airplanes to fly into the World Trade Center.
  So now, with the embarrassing and disastrous withdrawal by the Biden 
administration of our troops from Afghanistan, the question is, How 
long will it take the terrorists to reconstitute themselves and present 
a clear and present danger to not only the region but also the 
continent of Europe and the United States? But for right now, we 
deserve and the American people deserve answers and accountability. And 
it is not just these 13 marines who lost their lives in Afghanistan; 
other American servicemembers have lost their lives and literally their 
limbs to try to deny a safe haven to terrorist organizations like al-
Qaida and ISIS.
  I worry that they may worry that their sacrifices may have been in 
vain if, in fact, these terrorists occupy this vacuum which has now 
been created with a very hospitable Taliban, which was responsible for 
hosting al-Qaida in the first place. I worry that these troops feel 
like their sacrifice has been in vain. But I want to assure them that 
they did what they were asked to do by their Commander in Chief with 
honor and respect and great personal sacrifice. And no matter what 
happens going forward, nothing will ever change the respect and the 
honor that we have for them and their service.

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