On the anniversary of the tragic suicide bombing incident that claimed the life of his Marine son during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mark Schmitz, a gold star father, criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of the situation. In an interview on Fox News Channel’s “The Story” with Martha MacCallum, Schmitz blamed Biden for ignoring advisers’ warnings and attempting to shift blame onto his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Schmitz emphasized that Biden’s decision to move up the withdrawal deadline to August 31, seemingly to coincide with the original September 11 date, disregarded the advice he received. He also criticized Biden’s audacity in blaming Trump for the aftermath. The tragic Kabul airport attack on August 26, 2021, resulted in the deaths of eleven Marines, two U.S. Army soldiers, and a Navy Corpsman, along with around 150 Afghan civilians.
Biden’s characterization of the operation as a “success” was vehemently rejected by Schmitz and other individuals who lost loved ones in the attack. Schmitz highlighted various mistakes made during the withdrawal and expressed disgust at the lack of accountability for these decisions.
Paula Knauss Selph, the mother of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Christian Knauss, criticized the administration for failing the families of the victims and stressed the need for meaningful action rather than mere words. Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, condemned the administration’s celebration of the evacuation’s success, which she viewed as a painful disregard for the families’ grief.
Carol Briseno, the mother of Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, who lost his life in the attack, went so far as to call for Biden’s resignation. The sentiment among these families is that Biden’s handling of the withdrawal was marked by mistakes, lack of accountability, and a disregard for their pain.
