Afghanistan

Floor Speech

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Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I am here today to talk about the crisis in Afghanistan and to honor the distinguished service of those who gave the last full measure of their devotion protecting Americans there.

For the last month, Americans have watched, horrified, at the scenes of chaos and terror and bloodshed: Americans trapped at the Kabul Airport, terrified as the enemy closed in; innocent civilians fleeing for their lives, abandoned by their government; a young man desperately clinging to a departing plane's landing gear, he was so desperate to escape, only to fall then to his tragic death; 13 marines, the pride of our Nation, cut down by terrorists, never to see home again; and, then, as American planes finally departed, hundreds of American civilians left behind to the enemy.

Let me say that again: hundreds of American civilians left behind to the enemy.

And after all of that, who can forget the image of the President of the United States, declaring this mission that he planned, that he executed, that he oversaw--this mission that left 13 marines dead, that left hundreds of American civilians behind enemy lines; this mission that resulted in chaos and terror and bloodshed--who can forget this President saying that this mission was, and I quote, ``extraordinarily successful''?

An extraordinary success--really? Has a Commander in Chief in American history ever before uttered words like that? Has a Commander in Chief ever celebrated as ``successful''--``successful''--the abandonment of American civilians to an enemy, the death of American soldiers, terrorizing of American citizens and American allies?

I hope I will not live to ever hear again in my lifetime such shameful and disgraceful words from a President of the United States.

And make no mistake, this President is a disgrace. His behavior is disgraceful. He has dishonored this country with his shameful leadership in this crisis, and it is time for him to resign. And if he had the responsibility of leadership, he would resign for the crisis that he has himself led this Nation into and the responsibility he bears for the lives that have been lost and for the American citizens who are, even now as I speak, trapped in Afghanistan, left to the enemy because of his failures and his shameful, disgraceful leadership.

Even the shameful performance of America's leaders cannot disguise or cover over the heroism of America's soldiers, and I want to talk about one of those soldiers now. He was Marine Corps LCpl Jared Schmitz. He was from Missouri.

He was from Wentzville, in St. Charles County, to be exact, and he had wanted to be a marine since he was a teenager. Lance Corporal Schmitz was only 6 months old when terrorists attacked this country on September 11, 2001. He wasn't old enough to remember the beginnings of this long war in which he would go on to so valiantly serve. He had only graduated from high school, from Fort Zumwalt South High School, in 2019.

Jared signed up to join the Marines shortly before his 18th birthday. He had dreamed of it since before his sophomore year. He began training with recruits even before he enlisted. He wanted to serve this Nation because he was a man who served others. His father said Jared was always smiling nonstop. He brought light and hope to every place he went, and he wanted to bring those gifts and service to his country-- and he did.

He was a fine marine. He was sent on his first deployment to Jordan earlier this year and then received orders to Afghanistan. Jared Schmitz, Lance Corporal Schmitz, was there on August 26--there at the Kabul airport, doing his duty, serving his country, smiling nonstop when the enemy attacked. And it was there that Lance Corporal Schmitz, age 20, gave his life for the people he loved and for the Nation he served. He died so that others might live.

I had the privilege of speaking to Lance Corporal Schmitz's family just hours after we learned of Jared's death. I said this to them, and I promised that I would say it for the whole Nation: that Jared Schmitz lived a life of honor, he lived a life worth living, and his sacrifice was not in vain.

Jared didn't have to serve. He didn't have to deploy halfway around the world. He didn't have to stand protecting Americans and other innocent people as disaster unfolded. He didn't have to do any of it. He chose to do it. He chose to serve. He chose to give his life for others. That is a hero. That is an American.

Lance Corporal Schmitz deserves this honor. He deserves this recognition. Frankly, it is the least of what he deserves. And so, today, I am introducing in this body a resolution to honor Lance Corporal Schmitz and all the Missourians who made the ultimate sacrifice during the war in Afghanistan. They will not be forgotten.

Over the last 20 years, we have often heard numbers used to describe the costs of this long war: $2 trillion spent, over 20,000 soldiers wounded in action and thousands more who came home with invisible wounds, and 2,461 American personnel who gave their very lives. But each of these numbers was a son, a daughter, a husband, or wife, or father, or friend. They have names. They have lives. And they deserve to be honored.

As this chapter of American history concludes, I want to recognize in the Congressional Record each of my fellow Missourians who, during the war in Afghanistan, made the ultimate sacrifice serving this Nation. I ask that each of us reflect together and pray together for each one of the fallen, and also their families who have sacrificed so much, who have sacrificed all they have to sacrifice. These men and women will live in our hearts and in the memory of this Nation.

They are Christopher Michael Allgaier; Michael Chad Bailey; Michael Joe Beckerman; Brian J. Bradbury; Paul Douglas Carron; Jacob Russell Carver; Joseph Brian Cemper; Robert Keith Charlton; Richard Michael Crane; Robert Wade Crow, Jr.; Justin Eric Culbreth; Robert G. Davis; Edward Fred Dixon III; Jason David Fingar; James Matthew Finley; Zachary Michael Fisher; Jacob Rudeloff Fleischer; Blake Wade Hall; Nicholas Joel Hand; James Warren Harrison, Jr.; Jonathon Michael Dean Hostetter; James Roger Ide V; Issac Brandon Jackson; Christopher M. Katzenberger; Jeremy Andrew Katzenberger; William Jo Kerwood; Daniel Leon Kisling, Jr.; Donald Matthew Marler; Matthew David Mason; Richard Lewis McNulty III; Bradley Louis Melton; James Douglas Mowris; Michael Robert Patton; Joseph Michael Peters; Robert Wayne Pharris; Ricky Linn Richardson, Jr.; Charles Montague Sadell; Charles Ray Sanders, Jr.; Ronald Wayne Sawyer; Patrick Wayne Schimmel; Jared Marcus Schmitz; Roslyn Littman Schulte; Billy Joe Siercks; Adam Olin Smith; Tyler James Smith; Christopher Glenn Stark; Sean Patrick Sullivan; Philip James Svitak; Phillip David Vinnedge; Matthew Herbert Walker; Jeffrey Lee White, Jr.; Matthew Willard Wilson; Vincent Cortez Winston, Jr.; Sterling William Wyatt; and Gunnar William Zwilling.

Mr. President, the sacrifices of so many brave men and women demand that we in Congress bring all the facts of this long war to light. These sacrifices demand that we in Congress prioritize transparency and full accountability. And these sacrifices demand that we hold responsible those who bear the blame for the failure of the last month and of all the months that preceded it.

For 20 years, our soldiers who fought in Afghanistan did what we sent them there to do. They went after al-Qaida, killed Osama bin Laden, and prevented terrorists from using Afghanistan as a base for attacking our homeland. They did their duty, and they did it honorably.

But by now it is abundantly clear President Biden has not done his. President Biden turned an orderly evacuation into a disaster; that much is painfully clear.

First, Joe Biden pulled our troops out; then he sent thousands back in. He failed to protect Americans still in the country. He failed to account for lethal American military equipment he left behind. He failed to anticipate worsening conditions on the ground. He failed in his judgment that the Afghan security forces would hold their own when our own intelligence estimates said that they wouldn't. He failed to anticipate a new offensive by the Taliban. He failed again and again and again until American blood at the Kabul airport paid the price for that failure. Then he celebrated it as an ``extraordinary success.''

Joe Biden's team is responsible too. Men like Secretary Austin; Secretary Blinken; Jake Sullivan, the National Security Adviser, they overestimated the Afghan security forces' willingness to hold the line; and instead of planning for the worst, they planned for the best. Because of them, we have Americans stranded behind enemy lines and over 100,000 Afghan refugees arriving now to this country at this eleventh hour without vetting or precautions.

This was never necessary. It did not have to be this way and it shouldn't have been. Joe Biden is responsible for today's failure and now there must be accountability. Instead, the President's team is even now coming to Capitol Hill and blaming others, shirking responsibility. That is cowardly.

I, for one, am not willing to look the other way. Let me be clear. I will not consent to the nomination of any nominee for the Department of Defense or for the Department of State until Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken and Jake Sullivan resign. Leaders take responsibility for their failures. And the failure of these individuals, the failure of this administration has cost Americans their lives and has left American civilians to the enemy. There must be accountability and there must be a new start.

I believe that a century from now, when the history of this long war is written by our children's children, they will note the heroism and the honor of our soldiers and veterans who, in the aftermath of the worst attacks on our Nation's soil in a century, stood steadfast and resolute in unity; and who, despite the grave mistakes of their leaders over many years, served their country with bravery and distinction and defense of our freedom.

The great Winston Churchill, who was himself the veteran of one war and leader of another, said this almost 70 years ago:

We have surmounted all the perils and endured all the agonies of the past. We shall provide against and thus prevail over the dangers and the problems of the future, withhold no sacrifice, grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain, fear no foe. All will be well. We have, I believe, within us the life-strength and guiding light by which the tormented world around us may find the harbour of safety, after a storm-beaten voyage.

Mr. President, I believe, as Americans, we have that life-strength. I believe we have in us the light and the hope to survive this troubled time and to provide the world around us the harbor of safety after a storm-beaten voyage.

God bless our troops.

I yield floor.

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