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 Afghanistan veterans — offered a range of views on President Joe Biden’s approach to the situation.

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Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who commanded an Air Force squadron in Iraq and retired from military service as a brigadier general, took a third view. Bacon argued the U.S. should have maintained an ongoing military presence in Afghanistan, and that poor government messaging from recent administrations on the U.S. mission’s current purpose fueled popular support for a full withdrawal.

“We could have sustained a residual force of non-combat forces, and a combat airpower and helped maintain their aircraft. We could have done this a long time,” Bacon said. “And 2,500 forces is a lot less than what we have in Korea, Germany and many places in the world. And let’s be clear, we suffered zero combat losses in almost a year and a half.”

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