Prescott, AZ – Congressman Paul Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) issued the following statement in response to the heartbreaking deaths of American servicemen and women in Afghanistan.

“Today’s tragic death of at least a dozen service members is a reminder of how grateful we are for the selfless acts of courage our men and women in uniform exhibit every day. I'm incredibly grateful for their service to our country and my heart goes out to the families of the fallen who bravely gave their all trying to protect Americans abandoned in Afghanistan.

We mourn the loss of life and strengthen our resolve to get our people out of Afghanistan.

While questions concerning the details of the terrorist attack remain, one fact is clear: the deaths of these soldiers are the direct result of Mr. Biden’s disastrous method of withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. This was wholly preventable. Mr. Biden’s decision to pull American soldiers out before evacuating American citizens and equipment has sadly led to the predictable loss of American lives. In 2019 the House Armed Services Committee was informed about the presence of ISIS-K. The reckless manner in which this withdrawal was undertaken is nothing short of gross negligence and pure incompetence, and it has resulted in panic, death, and $80 billion in lost military equipment.

Instead of rescuing Americans, Mr. Biden has been illegally flying tens of thousands of Afghans into our country. Congress has not authorized this massive illegal immigration airlift. We will likely face terrorist events in our country because of Mr. Biden’s illegal and immoral transport of illegal aliens into our country. I repeat my request: focus on getting our citizens and our troops out.  

Countless more American citizens remain stranded. Mr. Biden must immediately evacuate ALL American citizens before others continue to be allowed to board American flights for safe haven to our country. We cannot have any more loss of American life.