A member of the UK Parliament tore into Joe Biden on Wednesday over the U.S. president blaming the Afghan military for giving up against the Taliban, which now controls Afghanistan, including the capital city of Kabul.
In a speech during a session of the House of Commons, Conservative Member of Parliament Tom Tugendhat, who served in Afghanistan as a member of the British Army, said that the NATO mission in Afghanistan “was a recognition that globalization has changed us all.”
“The phone calls that I’m still receiving, the text messages that I’ve been answering, as I’ve been waiting, putting people in touch with our people in Afghanistan, reminds us that we are connected. We are connected still today,” he said.
“And Afghanistan is not a far country about which we know little. It is part of the main,” he continued. “That connection links us all to our European partners, to our European neighbors, and to our international friends.”
Without calling him by name, Tugendhat proceeded to slam Biden.
“It is with great sadness that I now criticize one of them. Because I was never prouder than when I was decorated by the 82nd Airborne after the capture of Musa Qala. It was a huge privilege, a huge privilege, to be recognized by such an extraordinary unit in combat,” he said. “To see their commander-in-chief call into question the courage of men I fought with, to claim that they ran, is shameful.”
There were then
In his speech on Monday, Biden said, “The Afghan military collapsed, sometimes without trying to fight.”
He added, “American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.”
“Those who have never fought for the colors they fly should be careful about criticizing those who have,” said Tugendhat.
That remark was followed by shouts of “Hear! Hear!” in the chamber.
Watch above, via BBC Parliament.