在向全国发表讲话之前阿富汗总统先生乔·拜登正面临共和党人的尖锐批评阿富汗危机不断升级之后，塔利班战士迅速控制了这个饱受战争蹂躏的国家。
虽然是前总统唐纳德·特朗普谁在2020年促成了与塔利班的和平协议，为目前的撤军奠定了基础，共和党议员认为拜登应该受到责备，因为这最终发生在他的任期内。共和党人反驳说，拜登是决定正式结束战争的总统。
特朗普长期以来一直呼吁美国军队回家，并批评美国的军事干预代价高昂且无效，尽管他也借此机会在一系列声明中就混乱的撤离行动对拜登进行了抨击。
值得注意的是，共和党参议员本·萨塞(Ben Sasse)是少数几个同时针对拜登和特朗普的人之一，他称这种情况是“特朗普-拜登弱点理论的可预测结果。”
他在一份声明中说:“美国军队没有输掉这场战争——唐纳德·特朗普和乔·拜登故意决定输。
共和党人预计将在未来几周和几个月就阿富汗问题向拜登发起冲击，因为他们试图在明年的中期选举中占领国会两院。
据一名了解情况的参议院官员称，上周末，随着阿富汗政府被塔利班控制，国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀、国务卿安东尼·布林肯和参谋长联席会议主席马克·米利将军为参议院和众议院所有成员举行了关于当前局势的虚拟简报会。
“乔·拜登已经担任总司令七个月了——目前在阿富汗的失败完全落在他的肩上。他在这个关键时刻缺乏领导力是可耻的——这只会助长我们对手的气焰，让我们的盟友失望，”众议院共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡周末在推特上写道。
在周一上午的众议院小组委员会听证会上，共和党众议员迈克·约翰逊在开场白中抨击拜登对阿富汗局势的看法，称这是一场“不可理解、完全可以避免的灾难。”他还说“总统显然已经控制不住了。”
共和党众议员利兹·切尼在电视上说:“我们现在在阿富汗看到的是美国从世界上撤军后会发生什么。”美国广播公司的“本周”周日。
“这是拜登总统的西贡时刻，”众议院少数党党鞭史蒂夫·斯卡利斯，拉-拉。在哥伦比亚广播公司的“面对国家”节目中说
“当你看到美国大使馆被疏散时，这是一个非常可怕的情况。事实上，几天前，拜登总统刚刚告诉你，你不会看到像西贡那样的直升机撤离大使馆，但我们现在在这里，”斯卡利斯说。
参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔。，还抨击撤军是“拙劣的”。
麦康奈尔在一份声明中说，撤离“包括从喀布尔疯狂撤离美国人和脆弱的阿富汗人，是美国领导层可耻的失败”。
得克萨斯州共和党众议员迈克尔·麦考尔在美国有线电视新闻网的“国情咨文”中说，拜登对美国军队的撤离“将会非常愤怒”。
“这将是这位总统和总统任期的污点。...他们彻底搞砸了。他们完全低估了塔利班的实力，”众议院外交事务委员会的高级共和党人麦考尔说。
民主党人在阿富汗问题上表现得更为低调，尽管一些高级领导人表达了担忧，他们希望尽一切努力营救帮助美国在阿富汗执行任务的脆弱的阿富汗人。
众议院议长南希·佩洛西周日在推特上表示，混乱笼罩着喀布尔，她支持拜登。
她在推特上说:“总统在阿富汗问题上的声明和行动目标明确，值得称赞。
与此同时，在一个有点罕见的举动中，另一名众议院民主党人在推特上加入了批评总统的声音海洋。
没办法隐藏。阿富汗的局势是这个政府的另一个耻辱。退出从来都不是一件容易的事，但也没必要走到这一步。美国必须尽其所能帮助我们的伙伴和盟友确保安全，保护我们的国家安全。
维森特·冈萨雷斯众议员2021年8月15日
“没有办法隐藏它。阿富汗的局势是这个政府的另一个耻辱，”德克萨斯州众议员文森特·冈萨雷斯在推特上说。“退出从来都不是一件容易的事情，但它不需要走到这一步。”
Republicans play blame game with Biden on Afghanistan
Ahead of addressing the nation onAfghanistan, PresidentJoe Bidenis facing sharp criticism from Republicans over theescalating crisis in Afghanistanafter Taliban fighters rapidly seized control of the war-torn country.
Though it was former PresidentDonald Trumpwho brokered a peace agreement with the Taliban in 2020, setting the stage for the current withdrawal, GOP lawmakers are arguing that Biden is to blame because it's ultimately occurred on his watch. Biden was the president who decided to officially end the war, Republicans have countered.
Trump had long called for U.S. troops to come home and criticized U.S. military interventions for being costly and ineffective, though he's also taken the chance to strike at Biden over the chaotic evacuations in a series of statements.
Notably, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. was among the few to target both Biden and Trump, calling the situation a "predictable outcome of the Trump-Biden doctrine of weakness."
"American troops didn't lose this war -- Donald Trump and Joe Biden deliberately decided to lose," he said in a statement.
Republicans are expected to hammer Biden on Afghanistan in the coming weeks and months as they try to capture both chambers of Congress next year during the midterm elections.
Over the weekend, as Afghanistan government crumbled to Taliban control, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley conducted virtual briefings for all members of the Senate and House on the ongoing situation, according to a Senate official with knowledge of the matter.
"Joe Biden has been commander-in-chief for seven months -- the current failure in Afghanistan falls squarely on his shoulders. His lack of leadership during this pivotal moment has been shameful -- it has only served to embolden our adversaries and let down our allies," House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted over the weekend.
During a House subcommittee hearing on Monday morning, GOP Rep. Mike Johnson, in his opening remarks, slammed Biden for the situation in Afghanistan, saying it's an "incomprehensible and utterly avoidable disaster." He also said the "president is clearly in over his head."
"What we're watching right now in Afghanistan is what happens when America withdraws from the world," Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said onABC's "This Week" Sunday.
"This is President Biden's Saigon moment," House Minority WhipSteve Scalise, R-La., said on CBS's "Face the Nation."
"It's a very dire situation when you see the United States Embassy being evacuated. In fact you just had President Biden a few days ago saying you wouldn't see helicopters evacuating the embassy like Saigon, and yet here we are," Scalise said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also blasted the withdrawal as "botched."
The exit, "including the frantic evacuation of Americans and vulnerable Afghans from Kabul is a shameful failure of American leadership," McConnell said in a statement.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said on CNN's "State of the Union" that Biden is "going to have blood on his hands" over the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
"This is going to be a stain on this president and this presidency. ... They totally blew this one. They completely underestimated the strength of the Taliban," said McCaul, the top-ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Democrats have been quieter on Afghanistan -- though there has been concerns voiced by senior leaders wanting every effort to be made to rescue vulnerable Afghans who helped with the U.S. mission there.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted Sunday as chaos enveloped Kabul and put her support behind Biden.
"The President is to be commended for the clarity of purpose of his statement on Afghanistan and his action," she said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, in a somewhat rare move, another House Democrat took to Twitter to join the sea of voices critical of the the president.
There's no way to hide it. The situation in Afghanistan is another shame on this admin. Withdrawal was never going to be easy but it didn't need to come to this. The US must do everything in its power to help our partners & allies to safety & protect our national security.
— Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (@RepGonzalez)August 15, 2021
"There's no way to hide it. The situation in Afghanistan is another shame on this admin," Rep. Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas, tweeted. "Withdrawal was never going to be easy but it didn't need to come to this."
