Portman: Stop the ‘finger pointing’ on Afghanistan
Sen. Rob Portman called for a stop to finger-pointing after the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in Afghanistan, breaking through a chorus of angry Ohio Republicans who have pinned the blame on President Joe Biden.
Eleven Marines, a Navy corpsman and another service member were killed in a torrent of gunfire and bombings carried out Thursday by ISIS-K, an offshoot of the Islamic State. The attack injured an additional 18 American service members and wounded or killed Afghan civilians.
Ohio Navy medic Max Soviak of the Sandusky area was among those killed.
Portman said the victims died honorably trying to help Americans and Afghan allies flee the country.
“There will be plenty of time for finger pointing and politics,” he said. “Now is the time to express our gratitude to all the men and women of our armed services who have put themselves in harm’s way and offer our special prayers and condolences to the families and comrades of those who made the ultimate sacrifice today.”
The senator’s statement was a stark contrast to those issued by GOP members of Ohio’s congressional delegation and Republicans running to replace him in the Senate. Hours after the attack, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan succinctly tweeted, “Resign.”
“Today’s tragedy is the direct result of Joe Biden’s incompetence and refusal to deal with a serious situation that continues to engulf and ruin innocent American lives,” said author and Senate candidate J.D. Vance. “He has proven to be a
failure for the American people. He should resign.”
Although Portman’s response to Thursday’s attack was measured, he’s been critical in recent weeks of Biden’s strategy in Afghanistan — a sentiment shared by officials across the country. Biden maintained that the U.S. presence in Afghanistan needed to end after 20 years, but his administration has faced scrutiny for failing to evacuate Americans and allies sooner and not anticipating the Taliban’s rapid takeover.
“To basically pull out our military assets and then to say, now we’re going to start a withdrawal puts so many people at risk, and it didn’t have to be this way,” Portman said in an interview earlier this week.
Other Ohio officials have expressed concern, as well. U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson
wrote Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Wednesday to inquire about the pace of evacuation efforts, and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has repeatedly called on the administration to ensure the safety of Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants and their families.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Democrat running for Senate, offered his condolences to the military personnel who were killed during a campaign tour in Athens County on Thursday.
“My condolences — we’re heartbroken over what happened in Afghanistan today,” he said. “Now more than ever we need to focus on our exit strategy and get everyone home safe.”
Columbus Dispatch reporter Céilí Doyle contributed.
Haley Bemiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.