First Lady Jill Biden (left), Pope Francis.Photo: Michael Reynolds/UPI/Shutterstock; VATICAN MEDIA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Accordingto aWashington Poststory published Thursday, Rear Adm. Peter Vasely, a Navy SEAL, said in sworn testimony that as the U.S. attempted to evacuate its own citizens as well as lawful permanent residents and Afghans who had assisted the military, the operation center at the Kabul capital airport was swamped with calls and messages from those pleading for help with specific groups of people.
“You had everyone from the White House down with a new flavor of the day for prioritization,” Vasely said in his testimony, according to thePost.
Peter G. Vasely.U.S. Department of Defense
In the following months, the U.S. completed a full-scale withdrawal as the Taliban who had been held at bay swiftly retook the country’s cities. Their fighters were met with little resistance from the Afghan army and its democratic government, which soon collapsed.
The Taliban’s takeover led to scenes of disarray and panic at the Kabul airport in August as the U.S. evacuated its own citizens as well as allies before thelast U.S. military plane left the regionon Aug. 30, officially signaling the end of the war.
In a speech from the White House prior to the last U.S. flight leaving the country, Biden admitted there had been mistakes in how the military exit unfolded — which fueled the chorus of criticism at home — but he said he had not wavered in his estimation about what was best for the country after two decades of war abroad.
Peter Vasely.Shutterstock
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“I’m left again to ask of those who argue that we should stay: How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghanistan’s civil war if Afghan troops will not? How many more lives, American lives, is it worth? How many endless rows of headstones at Arlington National Cemetery?”
Some 124,000 people were ultimately evacuated from the country ahead of the official U.S. exit from Afghanistan.
source: people.com
