Congressman Rich McCormick didn’t mince words on Newsmax Friday when he said the Biden administration “absolutely botched” the Afghanistan withdrawal, and Americans should be angry about it. McCormick, a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan, called out senior leaders for refusing to give straight answers about who was loaded onto U.S. military flights during the chaotic airlift. His blunt assessment reflects a wider and growing outrage among veterans and patriots who watched two decades of sacrifice end in confusion and shame.
The heart of the outrage is simple: officials could not — and still cannot — confidently say who was evacuated and admitted to the United States, a failure that began at the tarmac in Kabul. Even heated congressional exchanges from 2021 show senior officials stumbling when asked about vetting percentages, a moment McCormick used to argue that deeper systemic failures existed. When our leaders hedge and deflect on matters of national security, ordinary Americans have every right to demand answers.
This wasn’t just an administrative snafu; it was a moral wound for those who served and bled for fourteen years in Afghanistan. Republican investigations have documented the chaotic decision-making and the tragic consequences that followed, including the horrific suicide bombing at Kabul airport and the sense among veterans that their sacrifices were squandered. The American people deserve accountability for a withdrawal that left allies behind and our credibility damaged.
Worse, the danger of shoddy vetting has proven real in the years since the evacuation, with reports that at least one accused attacker who entered under evacuation programs slipped through screening. Incidents like this are the nightmares Conservatives warned about — proof that lax procedures and political expediency can produce deadly consequences on American soil. When lives and national security are on the line, patriotic common sense must trump bureaucratic spin.
This failure in Kabul is part of a broader pattern: porous borders and a culture of leniency toward entry without rigorous checks have exposed the homeland to unnecessary risk. House Republicans have rightly condemned the administration’s handling of the withdrawal and its enduring refusal to fully account for the damage. If we are to protect our citizens, we must face hard truths instead of partisan cover-ups.
We should demand immediate, thorough reforms: full transparency on who was admitted, aggressive vetting retroactively applied, and a permanent overhaul of evacuation and refugee protocols to ensure battlefield allies are honored without jeopardizing our security. Congress must continue pressing for documents and testimony until every unanswered question is resolved, because the safety of hardworking American families depends on it. Patriots across this country will not forget the lessons of 2021, and we will fight to make sure Washington never repeats them.
