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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul spoke with Local 6 during a visit to Eddyville, Kentucky, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.

EDDYVILLE, KY "I think it's hard to imagine more incompetence unless they tried to be incompetent," U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday of the United States evacuation from Afghanistan.

Local 6 caught up with the Kentucky Republican in Eddyville. Talking with us about the US evacuation, Paul called the process a failure.

"I mean, what a disaster," Paul said. "I think it's sad that we were there 20 years, and then we left all of that equipment behind that will be used by people who are declared enemies of our country."

Videos have shown militants making their way through an abandoned hanger with equipment the United States left behind at the Kabul airport, and Taliban fighters have posed for photos in planes and helicopters that at one time belonged to the Afghan Air Force. However,Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that the US military made the aircraft and other vehicles left at the airport "unusable."

"They can look at them, they can walk around but they can't fly them. They can't operate them," Kirby told CNN. He said the only items left at the airport in working order were a couple of fire trucks and some fork lifts.

MORE DETAILS:Taliban declare victory from Kabul airport tarmac after US withdrawal

Paul said he believes the United States did stay in Afghanistan too long, but criticized the way the withdrawal was handled.

"I think we did stay too long, though. I think our mission has been done for 10 or 15 years. But we left in sort of a haphazard and incompetent way, and I think people will not soon forget how incompetent the Biden administration was in leaving, the sadness of 13 of our soldiers dying on the second to last day of the war."

Those service members 11 Marines, an Army soldier and a Navy corpsman were killed in a terrorist attack at the Kabul airport last Thursday, along with scores of Afghans.

"Ninety generals signed a letter basically saying that those in charge of the withdrawal should be fired, and I tend to agree with that," Paul said. The open letter signed by dozens of retired generals and admirals was written by Flag Officers 4 America, a group that also sent a different open letter in 2020 that appeared to endorse a false conspiracy theory about the results of the 2020 presidential election, Business Insider reports. In the new letter, which was released Monday, the group called the withdrawal from Afghanistan "disastrous," and called forDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to resign.

"It's an example that nation building doesn't work. We were there for 20 years. We spent trillions of dollars. We bought them uniforms, we bought them arms, we bought them helicopters, we bought them planes, we bought them Humvees, and they ran and gave them all to the Taliban. It's really just an example that nation building doesn't work, and we should really think about that before we do it again," Paul said.

Local 6 also asked Paul about the possibility of Afghan refugees being placed in west Kentucky cities like Bowling Green and Owensboro.Nonprofit refugee resettlement agencies in Kentucky will help up to 775 Afghan refugees,the Courier Journal reports. The Louisville newspaper reports that the city could see up to 350 refugees, Lexington could have up to 125, Bowling Green may get up to 200 and Owensboro may get as many as 100.

"I think the best thing would have been those who believe in democracy and freedom to stay and fight would be good. I mean, their president left within hours of being given his country to govern, the army of 300,000 people just disappeared and nobody fought. They gave all of our weapons to the Taliban. What a disgrace," Paul said. He saidif people there truly loved their country, they would have left to remote provinces and eventually come back to fight for their country.

Thousands of refugees who helped American forces during the war are arriving in the US, and many others are seeking refuge in other nations across the globe. A HuffPost analysis found that 36 states are willing to accept refugees, 12 haven't taken a position yet and two are refusing to take them. In the Local 6 area, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri will accept refugees and Tennessee is undecided. The two states whose governors have refused to take in refugees are Wyoming and South Dakota.

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Sen. Rand Paul calls Afghanistan evacuation a 'disaster,' says the war was 'an example that nation building doesn't work' - WPSD Local 6