Trump Condemns Rival Harris Over Deadly Afghanistan Withdrawal
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KABUL/DETROIT (Worthy News) – Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump linked his main rival for the race to the White House’s involvement in the deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on the third anniversary of a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.
He said Kamala Harris, the current vice president and Democratic nominee for president, humiliated America.
“Caused by Kamala Harris, [President] Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” Trump told an audience of about 4,000, including National Guard members and their families in Detroit.
He also mentioned that Harris had not revealed major policy initiatives so far but instead focused on Trump’s alleged wrongdoing.
Trump arrived in Detroit after he laid wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of Sgt. Nicole Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover and Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, who was killed alongside more than 100 Afghans in the August 26, 2021, suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
He then traveled to Michigan to address the National Guard Association of the United States conference.
Those fiercely condemned by Trump, his critics said President Biden’s administration was following a withdrawal commitment and timeline that the Trump administration had negotiated with the Taliban group in 2020.
SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR
A 2022 review by a government-appointed special investigator reportedly concluded decisions made by both Trump and Biden were the key factors leading to the rapid collapse of Afghanistan’s military and the Taliban takeover.
Yet, in his speech to the National Guard in Detroit, Trump countered that leaving Afghanistan was the right thing to do but that the execution was poor. “We were going to do it with dignity and strength,” he said. He called the attack “the most embarrassing day in the history of our country.”
Since Biden ended his reelection bid, Trump has focused on Harris and her roles in foreign policy decisions.
He highlighted the vice president’s statements that she was “the last person in the room” before Biden decided on Afghanistan.
“The voters are going to fire Kamala and Joe on November 5, we hope, and when I take office, we will ask for the resignations of every single official,” Trump said in Detroit.
“We’ll get the resignations of every single senior official who touched the Afghanistan calamity to be on my desk at noon on Inauguration Day. You know, you have to fire people. You have to fire people when they do a bad job,” he warned.
Harris also remembered the anniversary of the Kabul airport attack, saying she mourns the 13 U.S. service members who were killed. “My prayers are with their families and loved ones. My heart breaks for their pain and their loss,” she said.
HONORING VETERANS
Harris said she honors and remembers all Americans who served in Afghanistan.
Yet the U.S. exit from Afghanistan resulted in the Taliban regaining control of the country.
It established strict Islamic rule under which minority Christians face potential death for their faith, Worthy News established.
“As far as the Taliban are concerned, there are no Christians in Afghanistan. Most house churches that existed before the Taliban (even if they had to be hidden) have been closed, as believers were forced to flee or go even further underground,” said advocacy group Open Doors.
“When the Taliban came to power, they did so with pledges to recognize more freedoms than in the past. But that hasn’t happened. If an Afghan’s Christian faith is discovered, it can be a death sentence, or they can be detained and tortured into giving information about fellow believers,” the group added.
Open Doors ranks Afghanistan 10th on its annual World Watch Lost of 50 nations, where it says Christians face the most persecution for their faith in Christ.
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