Madison Kwiecinski 

News Editor

mvk5945@psu.edu

The two decade long war in Afghanistan has finally come to an end, with an uncertain future for Afghans ahead. The withdrawal of American troops from the region, which was completed on August 30th, a day ahead of schedule, was a chaotic and tragic string of events. 

President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan hours before the Taliban took over the palace on August 15th. Following the Taliban’s successful take over of the palace, thousands struggled to flee Afghanistan, out of fear of returning to the restrictive government the Taliban ruled under over two decades ago. 

The United States had originally planned for the evacuation to be fully completed by September 11th of this year, but quickly moved the deadline up to August 31st when it became evident the country was going to fall to the Taliban much sooner. All troops had left Afghanistan a day sooner than the moved by deadline, in the rushed withdrawal. The U.S. embassy in Kabul was also supposed to originally remain, with an estimated 650 troops meant to remain at the embassy. The Taliban victory forced the embassy into a rushed shutdown, with staffers attempting to burn and shred all of the important documents they could before being forced to evacuate and set up a makeshift embassy within the Kabul airport. 

The airport was a scene of chaos throughout the entire evacuation, and on August 26th a terrible and tragic attack took place there when a suicide bomber exploded within the airport and caused one of the deadliest attacks of this two decade war, right as it came to a close.

The attack killed as many as 180 people, including 13 American servicemembers. The troops who lost their lives that day, were among the first American troops killed in Afghanistan since February 2020, and accounted for the highest single-day American death toll in Afghanistan throughout the war. Since the attack, the Islamic terrorist ground, ISIS-K, has claimed responsibility.  

Among those who lost their lives to the suicide bomber in the Kabul Airport were 11 Marines, one Navy sailor, and one Army soldier. Another 18 additional U.S. troops were injured in the bombing. All of the men and women who tragically lost their lives inside that airport were brought home to family by plane and, if the family approved, were received by President Joe Biden in his first “dignified transfer” as President. President Biden also first offered to meet with all of the families, many of which accepted the invitation. 

Hours after the airport attack Biden stated, “These American service members who gave their lives…were heroes, heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others.” These servicemembers gave their lives for their country, and their loss of life is a national tragedy. 

The grieving families met with Biden to witness the transfer of their loved ones at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, on August 29th. Two of the transfers were completed in private at the families request. The rest of the dignified transfers were done together, with all of the families present.

Since the transfer, many of the families have spoken out against Biden. The families have claimed he spent the entire service checking his watch in between each transfer, and that he focused more on speaking about his own departed son than he did on their own recently lost loved ones.

The footage from the event does not clarify if Biden was checking his watch, but regardless these grieving families were not satisfied with the service and have since spoken out. One of the family members in attendance has even reported that another family member, unrelated to him, called out to Biden, “Burn in hell. That was my brother.” 

When Secretary of State Anothony Blinken was asked about the service for the families of the departed, he stated, “There is nothing I can say – that I think, anyone can say to assuage the grief a parent is feeling at the loss of a child. Nothing…..And all I can say is, I’m deeply, deeply sorry.”  

The two decade long tragic war and occupation has finally ended, closing a combat mission that spanned four presidencies. The finality of our time in Afghanistan has caused an abundance of controversy, with some people angry the U.S. was there in the first place, while others are furious it withdrew.

In July of this year, when Biden was responding to critics of the withdrawal, he stated, “Let me ask those who wanted to stay: How many more? How many more of America’s daughters and sons are you willing to risk?”

Today, with all American troops off the ground, and ongoing diplomatic evacuations scheduled for Americans and Afghans seeking refuge, the answer is no more. No more American lives will be lost on Afghan soil.