Afghanistan: Ex-US Marine moved to tears as he describes ‘catastrophe’ of US withdrawal
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 lost an arm and a leg in the suicide attack at Kabul airport. Pic: AP
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.”
This image from a video released by the US Defence Department shows US Marines around the scene at Abbey Gate outside Kabul airport on August 26, 2021 after a suicide bombing
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.
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“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.”
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August 2021: Desperate attempts to flee Kabul airport
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.
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Afghan withdrawal ‘a catastrophe’
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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.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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