Congressman Castro Statement on Afghanistan
SAN ANTONIO — U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (TX-20), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Intelligence Committee, issued the following statement on Afghanistan:
“It’s a terribly tragic situation in Afghanistan. After two decades of open-ended U.S. military intervention with the loss of 2,448 American service members and costing over $2 trillion, I supported President Biden’s decision not to surge troops to fight in a civil war and enter a third decade of conflict. The Afghan military had the capability to fight the Taliban but sadly lacked the will to fight themselves, and an even longer U.S. troop deployment would not have changed that.”
“Right now, the United States’ mission is to safely evacuate all U.S. citizens and help our Afghan allies who helped us over the past 20 years as well as evacuate as many vulnerable people as possible, particularly women and girls. We need to expediate evacuations immediately, and we cannot let government bureaucracy or red tape hold us back from saving lives.”
“We must welcome refugees from Afghanistan here in the United States. I voted to expand the Special Immigrant Visa program to ensure more of our Afghan allies can obtain protection in the United States, and I will continue to support a strong refugee resettlement system.”
“Several San Antonio residents with families in Afghanistan have reached out for help, and my office is working urgently and pushing hard for the U.S. State Department and other agencies to coordinate flights to safety. San Antonians who have family members in Afghanistan in need of evacuation can contact my office at 210-348-8216.”
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