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Rep. Rich McCormick didn’t mince words on Newsmax Friday when he said the Biden administration “absolutely botched” the Afghan withdrawal and the vetting of evacuees who came here in the chaos of 2021. His blunt assessment comes from a Marine and former emergency medicine doctor who saw the human cost of two decades of war, and his outrage echoes what millions of Americans felt watching our withdrawal unfold.
McCormick reminded viewers of the embarrassing exchanges from 2021 when senior officials could not confirm whether those loaded onto U.S. military flights had been properly screened, showing a level of confusion and negligence that should have never happened. This was not merely bureaucratic bungling — lives and national security were put at risk, and our troops’ sacrifices were treated like collateral damage by an administration more interested in optics than outcomes.
Those long-simmering failures burst back into the headlines after the shocking ambush outside the White House, allegedly carried out by an Afghan national who came here during that evacuation and later attacked National Guard members. The suspect, identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the U.S. in 2021 under the chaotic Operation Allies Welcome and has now been charged in a case that has rightly focused attention on who was let in and how thoroughly they were vetted.
Washington watchdogs had already warned that DHS encountered serious obstacles to screening and vetting the roughly 79,000 Afghan evacuees, noting missing or inaccurate identity data and gaps that left room for dangerous oversights. Those findings are not partisan spin — they are the work of inspectors and investigators who documented how the process fell short of the rigorous standards Americans expect when national security is on the line.
Liberty-loving Americans must also be honest about the politics: even when later administrations granted asylum or processed paperwork, the initial failures in 2021 opened the door to long-term headaches for communities and law enforcement. McCormick and other Republicans are right to demand re-vetting, accountability, and concrete changes so that we do not repeat the same mistakes at the southern border or in future evacuation operations.
Congress has already started moving on measures to force recurring vetting and to ensure every evacuee is properly screened for the duration of their stay, because words alone won’t keep Americans safe. Patriots who love this country and respect the sacrifices of our servicemen and women should stand with lawmakers who insist on border security, smarter vetting, and punishment for the officials who put politics ahead of safety.
