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According to the Free Beacon, the families of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the Abbey Gate bombing say they still have not received any communication or condolences from President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris. The rushed exit, which resulted in the deaths of 13 Americans and left hundreds stranded, has left these families feeling abandoned by the administration.
Cheryl Juels, the aunt of Marine Sergeant Nicole M. Gee, who was just 23 when she was killed, voiced her frustration at the lack of acknowledgment from the administration. “There’s never even been condolences from Biden or Harris,” Juels said. “They want to take credit for ending the war, but they refuse to take responsibility for the way it all unfolded.”
Alicia Lopez, the mother of Marine Corporal Hunter Lopez, also expressed her dismay at the administration’s handling of the situation. She criticized the perceived “lack of responsibility taken by both Harris and Biden,” pointing out that there has been no effort to investigate the mistakes that led to the disastrous withdrawal. “To treat this as just another page in a book to flip over is both saddening and frightening,” Lopez added.
The families shared these sentiments during a press call, marking the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport, which occurred amidst the frantic efforts to evacuate the city before Biden’s withdrawal deadline. The attack not only killed 13 U.S. service members but also injured 18 and claimed the lives of over 100 Afghan civilians.
Gold Star father Mark Schmitz, whose son Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz was among those killed, spoke of the administration’s apparent effort to distance themselves from the fallout. “They have treated the withdrawal from Afghanistan like the plague,” he said. “Seeing that today was the wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington, I’m not surprised in the least that neither Biden nor Harris would show up.”
Despite the tragic consequences of the withdrawal, neither Biden nor Harris has attended any memorials for the fallen soldiers. Biden was reported to be vacationing at his family’s beach house in Delaware, and Harris, while issuing a statement honoring the fallen, has defended the withdrawal as the “courageous and right decision.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans continue to investigate the mishandling of the Afghanistan operation. The Pentagon recently confirmed that the Abbey Gate suicide bomber was an ISIS-K terrorist who had been released from a prison abandoned by the U.S. military during the withdrawal. Families of the fallen continue to demand accountability and recognition from the administration, which they feel has failed to honor the sacrifices made by their loved ones.
