VoteVets Statement on President Biden’s Afghanistan Remarks

“The long-overdue end of the Afghanistan War is finally here. Too many of our troops gave too much to extend a mission that was completed well over a decade ago – that is decimating the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. Mission creep turned that anti-terror mission into a nation-building mission. This mission could have lasted forever, literally, unless a Commander in Chief stepped in who had the spine to end it. Joe Biden is that president, and he’s to be commended for standing up to too many in Congress and the National Security community who would pour money and lives into Afghanistan, ad infinitum.

We also very much appreciate the urgency President Biden sees in bringing interpreters to safety. They have put their lives, and their families' lives, on the line for our country. They've earned the safety and security that the United States can provide

VoteVets and its over 1.5 million supporters have lobbied for over ten years to end the war in Afghanistan. Through public issue campaigns and direct meetings with lawmakers, we have done the arduous work of pushing lawmakers to end the war. We’re not done. We still must repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that authorized that war, and is still used to authorize combat operations that have never been debated, or voted on. Similarly, we must get the 2002 AUMF that authorized the Iraq War off the books. It is time to seriously reform war powers, so generations of American troops aren’t sent to fight and die in a Forever War. Until that work is done, we will continue to push Congress.”