Barking At The Wind - Congress "Acts", Demanding Answers

Trump was the worst! The worst ever! Remember that?

Um, maybe we could get a recount???

In a press release from our Congressman, 4th District Representative Dan Newhouse (R) accuses President Joe Biden of being solely responsible for the debacle at the evacuation of Afghanistan.

Representative Newhouse was one of twenty Republicans who voted with the unanimous Democrat caucus to impeach President Trump for the January 6th break-in at the Nation's Capitol. The fallout from that, if any, will be sorted out next November. For now, Newhouse joined 143 Republican colleagues in cosponsoring "H. Res. 607, a resolution condemning President Biden for deficient planning and failed execution of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and calling on him to conduct a multi-agency accounting of resources left behind and report to Congress on intelligence gaps as well as committing to maintaining the evacuation operation for as long as necessary."

The Heading of the resolution reads: 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 607 Condemns President Biden’s failure to heed the advice of military and intelligence advisors about the speed and nature of the Taliban offensive, leading to a disorganized, chaotic, and abrupt evacuation of United States personnel and Afghan allies.

In addition to the resolution, Congressman Newhouse also added his name to a bipartisan letter to the President "demanding he answer critical questions" about what happened in Afghanistan.

Newhouse called administration decisions "unforced errors“. Good call. All of us "Monday Morning Quarterbacks" on Radio and TV quickly reached the conclusion that we should have left our troops in place while we moved our people out, got our afghan supporters and their families out, and provide military cover while our NATO allies got their people out in a peaceful fashion as well.

The letter ultimately asks the following questions...and I think all Americans would like to hear the answers

What is your plan to evacuate Afghan SIVs and other vulnerable Afghans like women, girls, and former Afghan civil service employees from Afghanistan? Do you have a plan to protect prominent women journalists, scholars, and employees of prominent nongovernment organizations? Will you ensure that religious and ethnic minorities, like the Hazaras, are also prioritized for Pl/P2 visas within this evacuation sequence?

Will you commit to abandoning the arbitrary August 31 withdrawal deadline and continuing Noncombatant Evacuation Operation until all Americans, allies, and at-risk Afghans are processed for evacuation?

The intelligence community has warned that Al Qaida and ISIS-K will be given carte blanche by the Taliban to use Afghanistan as a safe haven to train and equip for future terrorist attacks against the United States. What is your plan to ensure that Al Qaida does not resurge and regain a foothold in Afghanistan? What "over the horizon" operations are you prepared to use to counter this threat?

Given that the Taliban has taken Kabul, does the Taliban now have de facto command and control over the Afghan security forces' former personnel, equipment, and infrastructure? If so, does this mean that the Taliban possess an air force through this de facto control? What is your plan to disable any air forces that operate under orders from the Taliban?

What is your plan to ensure that more U.S. and Afghan military equipment does not end up in the hands of the Taliban? What is your plan to reclaim U.S. military equipment that has already fallen into the hands of the Taliban?

How many U.S. funded aircraft have been taken out of the country by Afghan pilots, and what are you currently doing to retrieve said aircraft?

What is your plan to secure Third Country Agreements for transit and resettlement functions for Afghan refugees?

What is your plan to support Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA)'s air traffic control functions long-term? Are there sufficient Afghan personnel to maintain the operability of HKIA after U.S. troops fully withdraw?

Do you plan to support any free Afghanistan resistance or security force that organizes outside of Afghanistan?

What is your plan to counter the Chinese Communist Party's growing relationship with the Taliban?

What is your plan to ensure that American influence in the Middle East does not erode after so rapidly dissipating in Afghanistan?

Are you prepared to support regional allies militarily in the event that the Taliban militarize the Afghanistan border? What is your plan to help to ensure that the Taliban does not destabilize its nuclear neighbor, Pakistan?

Do you have a plan to ensure that Afghanistan, under Taliban occupation, will never acquire a nuclear weapon?