NASHVILLE - Tennessee Republican senators and congressmen are pillorying President Joe Biden over his decision to abruptly withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, decrying the chaos and accusing him of refusing to acknowledge any blame on his part during Biden's national address Monday.
Georgia's two Senate Democrats, meanwhile, shied away from blaming the president but urged the U.S. to prioritize evacuating U.S. citizens and Afghan nationals who assisted the country during its nearly 20-year presence there.
U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tennessee, ambassador to Japan under former President Donald Trump, tweeted "the issue is not U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but rather the incompetent, disorderly, & dangerous way in which Biden is pulling U.S. forces out of the country."
Hagerty went on to charge the president's "dishonest speech avoided all responsibility for having no plan for the chaos. He claims the buck stops with him, but spent half the speech blaming everyone else - the Afghan people, Afghan military (66,000 who died in service), previous U.S. presidents - for his own mistakes."
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, accused Biden of "weak leadership" and charged the president "will throw anyone under the bus before taking responsibility for his incompetent leadership."
"Joe Biden's presidency is a crisis of confidence," Blackburn said.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleishmann, R-Ooltewah, said Biden "bears the full responsibility for the nightmare we are witnessing in Afghanistan."
"The tragic and horrific situation in Afghanistan has been caused by President Biden's reckless, hasty retreat of U.S. Forces," Fleishmann said. "Americans support concluding endless wars, but the American People cannot support the irresponsible way President Biden has abandoned Afghanistan to the brutal rule of the Taliban."
U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Sherwood, charged it was a "hasty withdrawal that was given zero thought, left our citizens in danger and threatened the security of classified information falling into the hands of terrorists. President Biden and his administration were reckless and deserve to be held accountable for the disastrous mistakes they made in our departure from this country."
In a statement, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, said he was "deeply saddened by the evolving situation in Afghanistan, which is painful on so many levels, and for so many people. My heart goes out to everyone seeking security in this tumultuous moment and the federal government must prioritize getting to safety Americans and our allies, especially Afghan citizens who fought beside our men and women in uniform."
In his statement, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, his staff "remains on call to assist constituents with information and support regarding evacuation procedures and consular services for Americans who remain in Afghanistan" as well as for and for Special Immigrant-eligible Afghan nationals who have worked for and with the U.S. government.
"I continue to urge the Biden Administration to make every effort to protect and evacuate U.S. citizens and SIV-eligible Afghans," Ossoff said. "I commend the heroic ongoing efforts of U.S. military personnel supporting the airlift out of Kabul and pray for their safe return."
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.