Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign issued a shocking statement on Saturday attempting to blame former President Donald Trump for the Biden-Harris administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
From all of the information available about the Biden-Harris administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal, it is clear to any rational observer that the administration abandoned the plans laid out by Trump and his team, and thus the responsibility for the failed withdrawal and the deaths of Americans falls solely at the feet of Biden and Harris.
Trump had devised a plan for the Afghan withdrawal during his first term, and had reached a deal with the Taliban during negotiations — but the deal was not completed by the time he left office in January 2020. When Biden took over, he scrapped Trump’s contingency plan that had processes for quick evacuations of Americans — the “Contingency and Crisis Response Bureau,” which was designed to “handle medical, diplomatic, and logistical support concerning Americans overseas.”
The State Department paused that bureau in 2021, just a few months before the botched withdrawal. The Biden-Harris administration announced in April 2021 that it would begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan on May 1, with the president deciding to withdraw all American troops from the country against the advice of his military advisors. While the U.S. attempted to pull out of Afghanistan, the Taliban immediately swept through Kabul and took over — which culminated in the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate in Kabul on August 26, 2021, that killed 13 American servicemembers. Biden also left behind billions of dollars worth of equipment that was immediately seized by the Taliban.
The Biden-Harris administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was so terribly mismanaged that commentators like Tim Pool believe that it was botched on purpose to “punish” anti-war activists for supporting the withdrawal and to give the government an excuse to re-start the Afghanistan War when the country inevitably falls back into chaos.
Despite all of this information being readily available, the Harris campaign attempted to gaslight Americans on Saturday.
In a statement, Harris-Walz Campaign national security spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein wrote: “Trump shamelessly attacks the Vice President because he hopes he can trick the country into forgetting that his own actions undermined US strategy and put our troops and allies in harm’s way. Trump wanted to bring the Taliban to Camp David just days before September 11th—think about that.”
“He cut a bad deal with the very same people who violently took over Afghanistan, leading to the collapse of the Afghan government. Trump’s chaotic actions led to catastrophic consequences in Afghanistan,” the spokesperson falsely claimed. “His own former national security advisor agrees: Trump cannot be trusted to safeguard our national security or serve as the commander-in-chief of our armed forces.”
In a new statement, Harris’ campaign argues that “Trump’s chaotic actions led to catastrophic consequences in Afghanistan.”
Some R’s agree that Trump cut a bad deal with the Taliban but the new Biden admin debated options on trying to change the deal and went w/ Biden’s plan pic.twitter.com/efMkCj4TmX
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) September 7, 2024
Social media users were quick to point out the Harris campaign’s lies, noting that Harris has repeatedly tied herself to what she deemed a “successful” withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Kamala Harris was the last person in the room when the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan was ordered, leading to 13 American service members being killed. Harris bragged about her role on-camera,” wrote Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller.
Kamala Harris was the last person in the room when the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan was ordered, leading to 13 American service members being killed. Harris bragged about her role on-camera. pic.twitter.com/jGEWx68pff
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) August 26, 2024
