Sasse calls Afghanistan withdrawal ‘national disgrace,’ blames Biden’s ‘cowardice and incompetence’

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Sen. Ben Sasse took aim at President Biden's handling of the final days in Afghanistan, calling the U.S. withdrawal from the country a "national disgrace."

"This national disgrace is the direct result of President Biden’s cowardice and incompetence," the Nebraska Republican said in a statement Monday.

LAST US TROOPS HAVE DEPARTED AFGHANISTAN

"The President made the decision to trust the Taliban. The President made the decision to set an arbitrary August 31st deadline. The President made the decision to abandon Bagram Air Base. The President made the decision not to expand the perimeter around Karzai International Airport. The President made the decision to undermine our NATO allies. The President made the decision to break our word to our Afghan partners. The President made the decision to tell one lie after another as the crisis unfolded," the statement continued. "The President made the morally indefensible decision to leave Americans behind. Dishonor was the President’s choice. May history never forget this cowardice."

Sasse's comments come as the last U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan departed the country Monday, keeping to the Aug. 31 deadline agreed upon between the Biden administration and the Taliban.

But the departure with U.S. forces did not come without lasting controversy, including the admission by the White House and CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie that some Americans have been left behind in the country.

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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged that there were a "small number" of Americans left in the country, with one senior State Department official putting the number at "below 250."

"There’s a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure," McKenzie said. "We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out."