Congressman Fine, that conclusion simply is not supported by the facts. ⠀ Yes, the United States has now withdrawn the bombers which were DEPLOYED to RAF Fairford. ⠀ And yes, the Pentagon has cited security concerns following the suspected plot near the base. ⠀ That deserves to be taken seriously. ⠀ But moving from that to: ⠀ “Britain has fallen” ⠀ and ⠀ “The United Islamic Kingdom is no longer a reliable ally” ⠀ is rhetoric, not evidence. ⠀ There is another rather important piece of context being omitted. ⠀ These aircraft were not all permanently based at RAF Fairford. ⠀ The United States operates Bomber Task Force rotations. ⠀ B-1s, B-2s and B-52s deploy from their home bases in the United States to overseas locations for particular missions and periods, and then return home. ⠀ Fairford has hosted those rotations for years. ⠀ Indeed, the bombers recently at Fairford were being used to support UNITED STATES military operations against Iran. ⠀ So Britain was not simply sitting passively while its own security deteriorated. ⠀ Britain had permitted its territory to be used in support of American military operations. ⠀ That decision itself increased the strategic significance of RAF Fairford. ⠀ Iran's Revolutionary Guards subsequently described the base as a legitimate target because American bombers operating from it had been used against Iran. ⠀ So Britain has actually accepted additional risk through supporting its American ally. ⠀ That rather matters before describing Britain as unreliable. ⠀ And NATO itself has said that the redeployment does not alter the alliance's defensive readiness. ⠀ So let us separate the facts from the outrage. ⠀ FACT: ⠀ US bombers deployed to Fairford have returned to their American home bases. ⠀ FACT: ⠀ Security concerns following the suspected plot contributed to that decision. ⠀ FACT: ⠀ Those bombers had been used in US operations against Iran. ⠀ FACT: ⠀ Fairford remains one of the relatively few European airfields capable of supporting American heavy bombers. ⠀ What has NOT been established is: ⠀ “Britain has fallen.” ⠀ Nor has it been established that Britain has ceased to be a reliable American ally. ⠀ Quite the opposite, Britain has allowed American strategic bombers to operate from British soil during an active conflict, despite the additional security risk that created for people in Britain. ⠀ You can absolutely question whether security at Fairford was adequate. ⠀ You can question whether the suspects should have been granted police bail. ⠀ You can question whether Britain should have permitted US strikes on Iran to be launched from British territory. ⠀ Those are legitimate arguments. ⠀ But “Britain has fallen” is not a factual conclusion drawn from this evidence. ⠀ It is a political slogan. ⠀ And once again, the detail matters.