Last weekend, businesses and organizations across America honored the 13 servicemen and women who died in Afghanistan on Aug. 26. Vigils, flag-draped seats, and 13 beers — all in honor of the 11 Marines, one soldier, and one Navy corpsman who gave their lives in service to our country. Sadly, some of them wouldn’t have been old enough to drink the beers set out in their memory. Most of them were babies on Sept. 11, 2001.

The news coming out of Afghanistan over the last month has been heartbreaking and infuriating. It has been 20 years since terrorists attacked the United States and the principles of freedom and democracy that we hold dear, yet today, the Taliban holds its strongest position since Sept. 11, 2001. The worst part is that it didn’t have to be this way. Regardless of how you feel about the decision to withdraw, there is no question that President Joe Biden’s withdrawal was chaotic and reckless.