Afghanistan: Ex-US Marine moved to tears as he describes ‘catastrophe’ of US withdrawal

Published

2 years ago

March 10, 2023

admin

Active service members and veterans have described in harrowing detail the carnage and death they witnessed during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Former US Marine Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews was among those giving evidence to the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee examing the handling of the withdrawal.

Mr Vargas-Andrews broke down in tears as he told of the deadliest moment in the August 2021 US evacuation – a suicide bombing in Kabul airport that killed 170 Afghans and 13 US servicemen and women.

He told of the stench of human flesh under a large plume of smoke as the screams of children, women and men filled the space around the airport after two suicide bombers attacked crowds of Afghans hoping to escape the country on a plane.

He said Marines and others aiding in the evacuation operation were given descriptions of men believed to be plotting an attack before it happened.

Mr Vargas-Andrews, whose right arm and right leg had to be amputated as a result of the bombing, said he and others spotted two men matching the descriptions and behaving suspiciously, and eventually had them in aim, but never received a response about whether to take action.

“No one was held accountable,” Mr Vargas-Andrews told the committee. “No one was, and no one is, to this day.”

“The withdrawal was a catastrophe in my opinion.”

The withdrawal brought an end to America’s longest war – a 20-year campaign that saw tens of thousands of Afghans die and more than 2,400 Americans.

Thousands of Afghans rushed to Kabul airport in August 2021 in the hope of escaping the new Taliban regime which had seized the capital far more quickly than US intelligence had foreseen.

Witnesses at Wednesday’s hearing recalled seeing mothers carrying dead babies and the Taliban shooting and brutally beating people at the airport. They depicted the US’s desperate attempt to rescue American citizens and Afghan allies, blaming inadequate planning and support.

Click to subscribe to Out Of Afghanistan wherever you get your podcasts

“I see the faces of all of those we could not save, those we left behind,” said Aidan Gunderson, an Army medic who was stationed at Abbey Gate, the area of the airport where the bomb exploded.

“I wonder if our Afghan allies fled to safety or they were killed by the Taliban.”

President Biden followed through on Donald Trump’s pledge to leave Afghanistan – despite the fall of the Afghan capital.

Witnesses called for action to help the many thousands of Afghan allies who worked alongside US soldiers and who are now in limbo in the US or back in Afghanistan.

“Our veterans know something else that this committee might do well to consider: we might be done with Afghanistan, but it’s not done with us,” retired Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann told the committee.

The Republican-led hearing is the first of what is expected to be a series examining the withdrawal.

Defence Department spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Rob Lodewick said on Wednesday that the Pentagon’s earlier review of the airport attack resulted in no advance identification of a possible attacker nor any requests for “an escalation to existing rules of engagement” governing use of force by US troops.

Last month, a report by US inspector-general for Afghanistan John Sopko found actions taken by both the Trump and Biden administrations were key to the sudden collapse of the Afghan government and military.

The report blamed all US administrations since American forces invaded in 2001 for failing to build a capable, sustainable Afghan military before completing the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021.

World

Donald Trump sending ‘top of the line’ weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Published

14 hours ago

July 15, 2025

admin

Donald Trump sending 'top of the line' weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

Follow the latest here

It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “very good conversation” with Mr Trump late on Monday. He thanked him for the “willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings”.

Weapons being sent from to Ukraine include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which the country has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

Mr Zelenskyy previously criticised Vladimir Putin’s “desire to drag [the war] out”, and said Kyiv was “working on major defence agreements with America”.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump over Mr Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call”, but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, where they “discussed the path to peace” by “strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe”.

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine – as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Published

1 day ago

July 14, 2025

admin

Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine - as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States,” he added, “going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

Follow the latest here

Weapons being sent include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which Ukraine has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump against Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call,” but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

Published

2 days ago

July 14, 2025

admin

At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

At least 30 people have been killed in the Syrian city of Sweida in clashes between local military groups and tribes, according to Syria’s interior ministry.

Officials say initial figures suggest around 100 people have also been injured in the city, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups.

The interior ministry said its forces will directly intervene to resolve the conflict, which the Reuters news agency said involved fighting between Druze gunmen and Bedouin Sunni tribes.

It marks the latest episode of sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minority groups have increased since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.

The violence reportedly erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida.

Last April, Sunni militia clashed with armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, and fighting later spread to another district near the capital.

But this is the first time the fighting has been reported inside the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly Druze province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports the fighting was centred in the Maqwas neighbourhood east of Sweida and villages on the western and northern outskirts of the city.

It adds that Syria’s Ministry of Defence has deployed military convoys to the area.

Western nations, including the US and UK, have been increasingly moving towards normalising relations with Syria.

Concerns among minority groups have intensified following the killing of hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.

That was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria, where a 14-year civil war ended with Assad fleeing to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.

The city of Sweida is in southern Syria, about 24 miles (38km) north of the border with Jordan.