Foreign Affairs

Rep. Bacon to Newsmax: Biden Fled Afghanistan to Meet a Campaign Promise

| Posted in In the News

President Joe Biden went forward with the quick military withdrawal from Afghanistan to meet a campaign promise and the situation created the "worst security debacle in our generation," Rep. Don Bacon, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, told Newsmax Monday. "It's been a disaster and the DOD (Department of Defense) and the intelligence community did advise against this…

OWH: Nebraska ready to aid Afghan refugees, but it could be a lengthy process

| Posted in In the News

Afghans are scrambling to find ways to escape after the Taliban overran their country. Many area refugee resettlement agencies are staffed and ready to accept Afghans who are fleeing the country. But local officials and federal leaders caution that it could be a lengthy process before any fleeing Afghans arrive in Nebraska. In an interview, Bacon said Ungerman and another…

'We'll do the best we can to help': Rep. Don Bacon meets with Afghans who say their families are in danger

| Posted in In the News

KETV: The Afghans living in Omaha said they can't just sit and wait. They're desperate and determined to do whatever they can to get their families to safety. That means showing up at U.S. Rep. Don Bacon's office Friday unannounced. They know Bacon understands their country, as he served as an Air Force General in several deployments to Afghanistan. "We'll do the best we can to help…

Bacon Has Long Warned of a Flawed Afghanistan Withdrawal

| Posted in Press Releases

Bacon Has Long Warned of a Flawed Afghanistan Withdrawal Points to Poor Execution by Biden and Disregard of Bi-Partisan Concerns in Congress Omaha, Neb. – Since 2019, Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) and other members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) have expressed concerns regarding a quick withdraw from Afghanistan and negotiations with the Taliban, especially since the Afghanistan…

KETV: 'I don't want to let anyone down': Nebraskans work to help Americans, refugees escape Afghanistan

| Posted in In the News

Desperate pleas for help come into Nebraska directly from Afghanistan. "Almost everybody is saying, 'We are hiding in our basements, trying to stay safe. The Taliban are everywhere. It's not safe to go outside. Please help us,'" said Ben 'Felix' Ungerman, deputy chief of staff for Republican Congressman Don Bacon. "We are getting overwhelmed with requests for assistance and help,"…

Four Capitol Hill veterans split on U.S. pullout

| Posted in In the News

Although Congress is currently in recess, lawmakers have taken to the airwaves and social media in recent days to offer support, recriminations and other commentaries on the U.S.’s departure from Afghanistan after 20 years and the Taliban’s rapid conquest of the country. In interviews with Jewish Insider on Monday, four House of the 74 total House veterans — including two…

Retired UNO dean and Afghanistan expert calls pullout from Afghanistan “tragic” and “embarrassing”

| Posted in In the News

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Tom Gouttierre is the retired Dean of International Studies and Programs and the retired Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska Omaha. He first arrived in Afghanistan in 1965 as a Peace Corps volunteer. He taught high school and eventually coached the country’s national basketball team. Among his students was President Ashfar…

House Armed Services GOP demand Biden plan to prevent terror groups from using Afghanistan as 'safe haven'

| Posted in In the News

Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee demanded President Biden provide Congress with a plan to prevent terror groups from using Afghanistan as a "safe haven" after the Taliban takeover, while criticizing his response to the worsening security and humanitarian situation unfolding.  The top Republican on the committee, Rep. Mike Rogers, along with his GOP colleagues…

‘Cut the bureaucratic b.s.’: Inundated lawmakers call for speeding up Afghanistan evacuations

| Posted in In the News

Dozens of members of Congress are joining the scramble to evacuate people trapped in Afghanistan, urging President Joe Biden's administration to expedite the relocations as efforts to flee grow more dire — and deadly — by the hour. Multiple Democrats and Republicans say distressed calls to help evacuate U.S. residents, Afghan interpreters and other asylum-seekers have flooded their…