Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement Monday morning memorializing the 13 U.S. soldiers killed during the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago, but has been conspicuously absent from public memorials and events marking the anniversary of their deaths.
Harris released a statement early Monday naming the 13 U.S. service members killed in the terrorist attack that occurred at Abiy Gate outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, mourning their deaths and calling on Americans to “come together as one nation to honor those who made the supreme sacrifice three years ago.”
“Today and every day, I mourn and honor them. I pray for their families and loved ones. My heart is broken by their pain and loss. These 13 dedicated patriots represented the very best of America, putting their beloved country and their fellow Americans above themselves and putting themselves in danger to keep their fellow citizens safe,” Harris said in a statement.
Harris also posted a statement on Vice President X’s account on Monday.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Harris’ campaign and the vice president’s office to ask whether they plan to honor military personnel at live public or private events, but did not receive a response.
The anniversary of the tragic soldier’s death comes after Harris finished last week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where she formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president after President Biden dropped out of the race last month amid growing concerns about his mental health. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, are scheduled to visit Georgia next week for their first official event since the DNC, NBC News reported.
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Israelis speaking to Fox News Digital offered a range of views on what Harris’ presidency means for Israelis. (Kenny Holston Pool/Getty Images)
Biden also paid tribute to the 13 US troops who were killed in action in an early morning statement. Fox Digital reported Monday that the president is staying at his seaside estate in Delaware this week and has no public events planned.
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“These 13 Americans, and so many more who were wounded, were patriots in the highest sense of the word. Some were born the year the war in Afghanistan began, others were on their second or third deployment, but all raised their hands for a cause bigger than themselves, risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, allies and partners in Afghanistan. They embodied the very best of our nation – bravery, commitment and selflessness. And we owe them and their families a sacred debt that we can never fully repay, but will never stop striving to fulfill,” Biden said in a statement, also naming the 13 soldiers.
In this U.S. Marine Corps photo, Aug. 21, 2021, U.S. Marines and Central Command Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response assist at an evacuation control checkpoint during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/U.S. Marine Corps via The Associated Press)
In her acceptance speech last week, Harris touted her foreign policy record and support for veterans but made no mention of the Biden-Harris administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
“I will not hesitate to take any action necessary to protect our troops and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. And I will not go near tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who are cheering on Trump because they know he is easily manipulated with flattery and favors. They know Trump will not hold dictators accountable because he wants to be a dictator,” Harris said during the presidential campaign. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago Thursday evening.
“As President, I will never waver in protecting America’s security and ideals. Because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand — and where the United States of America belongs.”
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The failed withdrawal left 13 U.S. troops guarding Kabul airport dead and hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan allies stranded in Taliban-controlled country. Critics such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) say the withdrawal paved the way for hostile countries such as Russia to invade Ukraine.
The Taliban eventually claimed control of Afghanistan after their withdrawal.
This photo provided to AFP by human rights activist Omar Haidari on August 20, 2021, shows a US Marine grabbing an infant through a barbed wire fence during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 19, 2021. (Omar Haidiri/AFP via Getty Images)
Harris previously acknowledged that she was “the last person in the room with Biden” before he decided to pull out, and told media that she was “pleased” with the operation, which ultimately resulted in deadly and chaotic results.
On the Republican side of the presidential race, former President Donald Trump has paid tribute to fallen soldiers on multiple occasions, including to families of soldiers who died during the withdrawal, and took to the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month for a moving 20-minute eulogy. Families also criticized Biden from the stage at the convention and called on the president to apologize.
“Look at our faces. See our pain, our heartache and our anger. [The Afghanistan withdrawal] “It wasn’t a huge success,” said Cheryl Jewels, Marine Sergeant Nicole Gee’s aunt.Joe Biden We offer our thanks and apologies to the men and women who served in Afghanistan.”
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On Monday’s anniversary, Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and reunited with families of those killed in Afghanistan three years ago.
The 45th president was seen listening to tap music, laying a wreath at the grave and meeting with family members during the solemn ceremony.
ARLINGTON, VA – AUGUST 26: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump stands alongside his grandson, Staff Sergeant Bill Barnett (L), of Darin Taylor Hoover, who died in the Abbey Gate bombing, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on August 26, 2024. Monday marks the third anniversary of the August 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 U.S. soldiers. (Getty Images)
President Trump has consistently criticized the Biden administration for failing to withdraw from Iran in 2021, calling it the “most embarrassing moment” in U.S. history in a post on Truth Social on Monday.
“This marks the third anniversary of the most shameful moment in our country’s history – the failed Afghanistan withdrawal. Gross incompetence. 13 US soldiers killed, hundreds wounded and dead, Americans and billions of dollars of military equipment left behind. Instead of withdrawing our soldiers first, they were withdrawn last after everything else was working out. Then Russia invaded Ukraine, Israel was attacked and America became the laughing stock of the world – and still is,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
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Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris (left) shakes hands with President Joe Biden during the Democratic National Convention, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
White House national security spokesman John Kirby answered media questions about the Afghanistan withdrawal on Monday, when a reporter asked why Biden and Harris felt they “should not host or attend public events in the way that former President Donald Trump did today.”
“If you take a good look at the record of the president, the first lady and the vice president over the last three and a half years, you see how deeply committed they are to our military members, our veterans and their families on everything from military integration to compact law,” Kirby replied.
He added that President Trump had received a personal invitation from the families of the deceased to attend Arlington National Cemetery, and that there were “many ways” for US leaders to pay tribute to fallen service members without “a lot of fanfare”.
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“The other way is to keep doing my job. Maybe not with big publicity. Maybe not in the public eye. Maybe not in front of the TV cameras. But to keep working hard every day to make sure that not only at Abbey Gate but the families of those who were killed and injured during my 20-odd years in Afghanistan get the support they need,” he said.
