Spectrum News 1
By. Em Nguyen

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With U.S. troops securing the international airport in Kabul this week, the Biden administration is dramatically increasing the number of evacuations from Afghanistan. But the president is facing scathing criticism from lawmakers for the way he’s ending the war there.

The U.S. estimates up to 10,000 Americans are still in the Kabul area, not including the nearly 7,000 U.S. troops. The administration aims to move more than 5,000 people out of Kabul each day, trying to get one plane off the ground with evacuees every hour. Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, said it’s painful to see more deployments into the region.

Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita is a U.S. Navy veteran who participated in over 30 combat missions during the 2003 invasion of Iraq

Garcia in his time vs now: "The geography was different, but this mentality of the enemy was the same."

Garcia blames President Biden for a poor exit strategy and said Biden should have considered more factors before pulling U.S. troops out 
“This is heartbreaking to see,” Garcia said. “It kills me to know that we now have effectively three times as many American troops in harm's way than we did just last week.”

Garcia, a U.S. Navy veteran who participated in over 30 combat missions during the 2003 invasion of Iraq draws similarities from his time in the military to what U.S. troops in Afghanistan may be experiencing. 

“The weather was different. The geography was different, but this mentality of the enemy was the same,” he said.

Garcia doubts the Taliban’s new promises of cooperation, women’s rights and no reprisal killings are trustworthy. 

“We are really going to see tens of thousands of our folks and our allies being executed in the next several months. And the Taliban will bide their time. They may not do something today; they may not do something this week, but they will do something. They are an evil entity,” Garcia warned.

He supports the decision for a withdrawal but blames President Joe Biden for a poor exit strategy. While acknowledging it was former President Donald Trump who set up the withdrawal plans, Garcia said Biden should have considered more factors before pulling U.S. troops out. 

“Circumstances change and you don't blindly sign up to an agreement without looking at the reality on the ground and what's going on in any situation,” Garcia said. “Drawdown in the winter months when the Taliban is at their weakest point and not really wanting to fight. And frankly, remove the civilians and remove the civilian contractors and our Afghan allies before you remove the military personnel.”

But Biden defended his decision and said in an address this week that he was boxed into Trump’s deal and that ultimately it’s not right to ask American troops to fight while Afghanistan’s would not. Some Democrats, like Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, are instead pointing the finger at what they believe were shortcomings from U.S. intelligence. 

“Our intelligence did not predict the swift crashing of the Afghan military forces,” Correa said. 

Garcia and Correa are both working with Afghan constituents in their respective districts to help them bring loved ones back into the country. Garcia said there are already about 30 active cases in his office.

“I’m getting videos and some intel from folks on the ground, there were relatives of people in Afghanistan, and it's a devastating picture. We're working hard to get folks to the right points,” Garcia said.

He said it’s clear there is a tumultuous path forward. Congress passed the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program to cut the red tape and get Afghan allies into the United States sooner than later. Garcia said they have around 30,000 people pegged for the program which includes Afghan interpreters for the U.S.