Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, plans to visit Arlington National Cemetery to honor the fallen service members from the Kabul airport attack. He will then head to Michigan to speak at the National Guard Association of the United States conference.
The anniversary marks three years since the August 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members and over 100 Afghans. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
Since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign, Trump has focused on Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and her involvement in foreign policy decisions. Trump highlights Harris’s claim that she was the last person to advise Biden before the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was made.
Harris responded to the anniversary by expressing her sorrow for the 13 U.S. service members and their families, and she reiterated her commitment to countering terrorist threats. She praised Biden’s decision to end the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and emphasized that the administration continues to combat terrorism without deploying troops into combat zones.
Some relatives of the fallen service members criticized Biden at the Republican National Convention last month, accusing him of not publicly acknowledging their loved ones. This was seen as a rebuttal to Trump’s past allegations of disrespect towards veterans, which he has denied.
Trump’s administration had negotiated a peace agreement with the Taliban aimed at ending the war and bringing U.S. troops home. Biden’s administration later pointed to this agreement as a reason for the chaotic withdrawal and the Taliban’s rapid takeover. A review of the withdrawal by the Biden administration noted that the evacuation process should have begun earlier, but it was complicated by issues with the Afghan government and military, as well as U.S. military and intelligence assessments.
Top U.S. generals criticized the planning of the withdrawal, with Gen. Mark Milley, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recommending a residual force of 2,500 troops for support. Instead, Biden decided to maintain a smaller force of 650 troops solely for embassy security.
