Congressman Jared Golden shares President Joe Biden’s goal of ending the 20-year war in Afghanistan, but he believes the administration made a tactical “mistake” in helping civilians leave the country after most of the U.S. troops were gone.He supported withdrawing troops when former President Donald Trump announced the plan last year and reiterated that support this spring when Biden revised the timetable."I said, I think this is going to be messy in Afghanistan but getting out troops home is the right thing to do for the United States of America," Golden said in an interview, following a rally with construction workers in favor of the massive infrastructure bill pending before Congress. “We don’t need to keep the troops on the ground indefinitely in a place like Afghanistan in order to keep defending the country, from a counter-terrorism perspective.”Golden, a Democrat, co-chairs the bipartisan For County Caucus comprised of military veterans and serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He said, "I am, like many people, frustrated with the way that the evacuation has been conducted. We, several of us, you know, got together several months ago, writing letters to the president, saying, 'Start this evacuation right now.'"He is worried about tens of thousands American civilians and Afghans with U.S. Visas, many of whom aided the U.S. war effort, who want to leave.“That’s going to take a long time. So, why the White House delayed to commence with the evacuation, I don’t know, and I think it was a mistake,” Golden said.Golden enlisted in the Marines following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and first deployed to Afghanistan in 2004.He believes the original counter-terrorism mission succeeded — retaliating for 9/11 against Al Qaeda's base and its leader."We got Osama bin Laden. We killed most of his top captains, lieutenants, and a lot of their rank-and-file operatives, or we put them in places like Guantanamo. We have prevented another major terrorist attack like 9/11 from taking place, and believe me, the intent was there," Golden said.However, Golden, who later deployed to the war in Iraq, where U.S. troops remain, is a critic of the long occupations and "nation-building" efforts. "Personally, I think we should have a long conversation as a country about whether we should engage in nation-building projects, like in Iraq or in Afghanistan? Ask ourselves, 'is there really a track record of success? And is it our responsibility? And should our young men and women lose their lives for it? Maybe we should have come home as soon as we got bin Laden?" Golden said.That was ten years ago.