support that they have been used to for many years. throughout the spring we saw many districts quickly fall to the taliban, many without firing a shot. this is why i urged president biden in june to rethink his approach and maintain a small force in afghanistan in order to prevent the collapse we ultimately saw. it was also why the members of this committee on both sides of the aisle spent months urging the administration to evacuate americans and our afghan partners sooner. president biden and his advisers didn't listen to his combat commander, he didn't listen to congress and he failed to anticipate what all of us knew would happen. so in august we all witnessed the horror of the president's own making.