The publication is reproduced in full below:
Afghanistan
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I speak today to recognize the 3 million men and women, Americans, who have served our Nation in the two decades since September 11, 2001, in what has become known as the Global War on Terrorism.
The days during--in just the last month--during this botched and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, were a terrible time of reckoning for our Nation. I am angry, discouraged, and concerned about the way and the manner by which the United States of America departed.
President Biden's announcement in April to completely withdraw American troops by September 11 without taking appropriate security precautions, including preparation for a return of the Taliban to Kabul, was irresponsible and will damage America's interest for years to come and endanger the lives of thousands of women and children in Afghanistan.
Additionally, the lack of urgency to do right by the thousands of Afghans who worked alongside Americans will forever be a source of shame for this administration. But as I said many times before, the withdrawal from Afghanistan was not the fault of the men and women in uniform.
In the days following September 11, 2001, the call to service was answered by thousands--thousands--of Americans who sought to defend the United States. These men and women left behind their families and careers to serve a greater good. I cannot think of anything more honorable than stepping up to defend our homeland from a threat that was, at the time, relatively unknown.
For most of our men and women in uniform, the Global War on Terrorism has been the primary mission of their entire careers. I run into people regularly who tell me about their service, and they saw what happened on 9/11 in New York City at Ground Zero. They saw what happened in the fields of Pennsylvania and what happened at the Pentagon. They decided it was their moment to step forward and defend and protect their Nation, to make sure that freedom and liberty remained the hallmark of who we are. And all of the sacrifices they and their families have made were in support of that effort and it was an effort they believed in and I certainly hope they still do.
Those who stepped forward to serve, eradicated vast networks of terrorists who wished to do America harm, making it absolutely clear that no one can harm Americans without our swift and certain retribution. They also brought Osama bin Laden to justice, destroyed the ISIS caliphate, and eliminated its founder.
In Afghanistan, our men and women serving in the military brought hope to a brutalized, war-torn country for the first time in decades. Incredibly, an entire generation in Afghanistan came to age knowing what it feels like to see freedom and to feel freedom.
Tragically, we saw Afghanistan quickly fall to the Taliban. It happened because of a haphazard and unorganized withdrawal process that has made our country and our world a less secure place. We all saw the images of terror and desperation as Afghans tried to flee their fate, many at the cost of their lives. We saw the footage of the chaos, the tear gas, and the explosion. We lost 13 lives of our honorable brave men and women in uniform to an attack outside the airport gates as they tried to rescue innocent families from their Afghan brothers and sisters in arms.
These scenes captured our Nation's attention, rightfully so. But unfortunately, in the days that followed, mainstream media's interest in Afghanistan began to wane. Take a look to see what is happening in Afghanistan now. See the desolation, the death, the destruction, the hunger, and the fear. This failure to have attention on what is going on in Afghanistan must not and should not be the case. We must continue to honor those who served and who will serve our country in the future.
We should consider S. 535, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act. This bill was introduced by the Senator from Iowa, Senator Joni Ernst, herself a veteran. It will authorize the location of a memorial on the National Mall to truly honor those who served to eradicate terrorism. It will honor the 3 million men and women who served and especially the thousands of servicemembers who gave that ultimate sacrifice--their lives. This memorial will also honor, heal, empower, and unite soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coasties who made those sacrifices.
I would guess many of us in the U.S. Senate have seen--we witnessed some of the healing that personally occurs in times that have met with the Honor--as I have met with the folks who have been here on the Honor Flights, those visitors who gather at our war memorials to remember, to be together, and, yes, to heal.
Last week, I was at a number of our memorials here in our Nation's Capital with a group of over about 160 Vietnam veterans from Kansas. I have been visiting with those veterans in almost all of the visits of Kansans who come here, and in those visits, I met the World War II veterans, the Korean war veterans, and the Vietnam war veterans who have a place of honor on the Mall where they can go to meet other veterans, to lay flowers, to pause and reflect, and remember the brothers and sisters that they have lost.
Just this weekend, back in Valley Center, KS, the Moving Wall--a tribute to those who lost their lives in Vietnam; the thousands, the 627 Kansans who lost their lives in Vietnam--was a place in which people gathered to do exactly that.
I hope someday I will be able to attend an Honor Flight to the Global War on Terrorism Memorial and meet with the generation of veterans who fought to bring peace to the Middle East and who fought to bring the United States into a safer and more secure place. It will be my honor and privilege to do so.
I am here on the Senate floor to pay tribute, to honor and respect, and to tell those who served in the Global War on Terrorism that we respect them; we thank them for their service; and we love them.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 188
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
Alerts Sign-up