(DCWatchdog.com) – The US Capitol flew its flags at half-staff on Saturday at the order of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to honor the American troops killed by a suicide bomber during President Joe Biden’s chaotic Afghanistan pullout.
Thirteen US service personnel perished on August 26, 2021, when an Islamist suicide bomber blew himself up at Kabul airport during the botched evacuation, days after the Taliban reconquered all of Afghanistan in no time following Biden’s withdrawal.
The explosion at the Hamid Karzai International Airport also killed over 200 civilians.
“Two years ago today, we tragically lost 13 brave servicemen and women in Afghanistan,” Speaker McCarthy (R-CA) wrote on the X social media platform.
“I have directed the flags at the US Capitol to be lowered to half-staff in honor of these American heroes,” he added.
Other Republicans also issued statements on the second anniversary of the 13 US troops’ deaths, slamming Biden for losing the 20-year-long war on terror in Afghanistan.
“[The loss of their lives] was a direct result of President Biden’s catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal,” declared House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
Earlier this year, the Biden administration blamed the Afghanistan evacuation debacle on former President Donald Trump, The Washington Times notes in a report.
It argued that Biden was “severely constrained by conditions” that Trump had negotiated for the withdrawal.
In a statement on Saturday, the president vowed to “forever honor” the service members who died at Kabul airport.
“Today, Jill and I remember and mourn these 13 brave American service members and the more than 100 innocent Afghan civilians who were killed in the horrific terrorist attack at Abbey Gate,” Biden said in a statement.“Many more were injured and will carry the impacts of their wounds and the horrors of that day for the rest of their lives,” he added.
However, according to Stefanik, the Biden administration has been “stonewalling investigations” into the botched Afghanistan pullout and the ensuing brief return of the US military to facilitate the evacuation of US citizens and allies.
“House Republicans [have] vowed that we [will] hold President Biden and his Administration accountable for their disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal,” the NY Republican wrote.
