President Biden declared on Wednesday that “America will not leave any veteran behind,” but veterans quickly lamented that this was not necessarily the case.
The cacophony of veterans and observers highlighted a group of American warriors abandoned both on the battlefield and at home.
“The Americans in Afghanistan, the 255 in Israel, and the 23 in Haiti obviously would strongly disagree with this statement given his pattern of abandonment,” said U.S. Army veteran Rep. Cory Mills (R-R.). Florida) told the Post.
“Why leave veterans behind when they can be used as a stepping stone for those at the top? When an organization refuses to evolve, gratitude stings the wounds of sacrifice,” Lt. Col. Stuart Scherer, author of the book “Crisis in Command,” told The Post.
Scherer was relieved of his duties in August 2021 after publicly opposing the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“With all due respect, no,” Chad Robichaud, a Marine Corps veteran who spearheaded the largest civilian evacuation from Afghanistan, told The Washington Post.
“Joe Biden abandoned 13 American soldiers in Afghanistan, then sent millions of taxpayer dollars to the Taliban who harbored their killers,” said Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), who lost both his legs in Afghanistan.
Many netizens pointed to the 13 military personnel killed in a suicide bomb attack by ISIS-K at Kabul International Airport during the chaotic withdrawal in August 2021.
Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, said Mr. Biden, 81, ostensibly checking his watch during a dignified transfer ceremony for Americans killed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after the Kabul bombing. ) posted an image.
“If that’s true, why are the veterans refusing to withdraw all Americans from Israel while being held hostage by Hamas on October 7th, but refusing to withdraw Americans from Sudan during the withdrawal from Afghanistan?” And they pulled out of Haiti just a few months ago,” Mark “Oz” Geist, founder of the Shadow Warriors Project, told the Post.
Geist is a former Marine and was part of the annex security team that fought in Benghazi in 2012.
“A U.S. Marine is languishing in a Russian gulag for years because of Mr. Biden’s trade for a WNBA player. His name is Paul Whelan,” Town Hall reporter John Hasson wrote. ing.
“Yet another outrageously disrespectful and false statement from @POTUS. When your administration left Afghanistan, nearly 1,000 Americans and many more allies were left behind,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a statement.
“Our veterans and Gold Star families see through this. All Americans see through this.”
“People in the comments are talking about the 13 soldiers left behind in Afghanistan, figuring out how to not provide veterans with the care they need, and how the VA is doing its job of providing the bare minimum of care when they can’t,” user Viktor Ulfricson wrote.
“There are 35,574 homeless veterans,” progressive critic Kyle Krinsky charged, citing figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Biden has long emphasized that the suffering of veterans is close to his heart. His son, Beau, served in the Iraq War and died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.
The president has long been son’s diagnosis This was due to exposure to incinerators during his military service.
The 81-year-old president took part in several events this week to promote the PACT Act, as it nears its second anniversary.
The act provided funding to increase support for veterans who were exposed to hazardous materials, such as from combustion pits, while on duty.
Biden on Tuesday recorded the 1 millionth claim under the PACT Act, touting it in Nashua, New Hampshire, while acknowledging the U.S. has shortcomings when it comes to supporting veterans.
“My fellow veterans, you are the solid steel backbone of our nation, and that is no exaggeration,” he said to cheers during his speech. According to White House records.
“Just as you have fulfilled your obligations to America in the past, we are now finally beginning to fulfill our obligations to you.”
