前总统唐纳德·特朗普周一上午，我参加了在阿灵顿国家公墓举行的敬献花圈仪式，纪念喀布尔机场袭击三周年，那次袭击造成13名美国军人死亡。
特朗普后来在密歇根州战场举行的国民警卫队协会年会上发表讲话，他得到了前国会女议员Tulsi Gabbard的支持，Tulsi Gabbard是美国陆军预备队的一名中校，曾被部署到伊拉克和科威特。
军队从…的混乱撤退阿富汗2021年8月仍然是保守派批评拜登政府的焦点。
特朗普长期以来一直谴责美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)对他周一所说的“拙劣”退出和对美国来说“尴尬”的时刻的处理，尽管最近他的2024年新对手副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯(John Kerry)也谴责了这一事件。
特朗普在国民警卫队协会(National Guard Association)表示，“由卡玛拉·哈里斯和乔·拜登(Joe Biden)造成的阿富汗羞辱，引发了美国在全世界的信誉和尊重的崩溃，”特朗普声称，他会以不同的方式监督撤军。
“我们永远不会忘记那些为祖国做出最大牺牲的勇敢战士。他们将永远活在我们心中，”特朗普在谈到13名遇难的军人时说。他补充说，“我们将通过恢复一个把美国人民放在第一位的政府来纪念他们。”
特朗普的竞选伙伴俄亥俄州参议员万斯(JD Vance)后来举行了一次新闻发布会，被问及特朗普的访问和拜登周一不在华盛顿之间的对比。
“首先，乔·拜登可能不知道他在哪里，”他说。“所以，我真的认为这是卡玛拉·哈里斯和川普总统之间的对比。”
万斯和在喀布尔袭击中遇难的金星家庭成员一起打电话，他们声称白宫一直没有和他们联系，他们对缺乏问责感到愤怒。
“卡玛拉·哈里斯没有什么不同。海军陆战队中士妮可·l·吉(Nicole L. Gee)的姑姑谢丽尔·朱尔斯(Cheryl Jules)说。“唯一一个一遍又一遍向我们家和所有13个家庭伸出援手的人是特朗普。”
哈里斯周一发表声明，向在“伊斯兰国”K恐怖分子在哈米德卡尔扎伊国际机场修道院大门引爆自杀式炸弹时丧生的13名美国军人表示敬意，塔利班迅速接管阿富汗后，疏散工作集中在这里。至少有170名阿富汗平民在爆炸中丧生，数十人受伤。
副总统说，阵亡的士兵“代表了美国最好的一面，将我们热爱的国家和他们的美国同胞置于自己之上，部署到危险中以保护他们的同胞的安全。”
她说:“我将履行我们的神圣义务，关心我们的军队和他们的家人，我将永远尊重他们的服务和牺牲。”。
哈里斯继续为拜登结束“美国最长战争”的决定辩护。
她在声明中说:“在过去的三年里，我们的政府已经证明，我们仍然可以在没有军队部署到战区的情况下消灭恐怖分子，包括基地组织和“伊斯兰国”的领导人。”。“我将毫不犹豫地采取一切必要行动，反击恐怖主义威胁，保护美国人民和国土。”
哈里斯此前曾谈到与拜登一起在房间里做出重要决定，包括他从阿富汗撤军的决定-这是特朗普的决定据报道试图发射在他担任总统的最后几天里。特朗普政府与塔利班谈判达成的和平计划包括2021年5月1日的最后撤军日期——拜登随后继续执行，最后期限为9月。
高级官员已经在国会作证关于混乱的撤军，其中一些人对撤军的处理方式深感遗憾。
众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊周一宣布，他将于9月10日追授国会金质奖章，以纪念在卡布尔遇害的13名军人。国会授予平民的最高荣誉勋章将颁发给他们的家人。
拜登在周一自己的声明中说，在艾比盖特遇害的13名美国人体现了“我们作为一个国家的最佳品质:勇敢、忠诚、无私。我们欠他们和他们的家人一笔神圣的债务，我们永远无法完全偿还，但我们永远不会停止工作来履行。”
拜登说:“我们绝不能忘记为我们的自由付出的巨大代价。我们绝不能忘记，我们失去的每一位亲爱的服务人员都是人，他们留下了整个家庭和社区。我们必须团结一致，永不停止努力，无愧于他们最终的牺牲。”
Trump criticizes Harris, Biden over Afghanistan withdrawal on 3-year anniversary
Former PresidentDonald Trumpparticipated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday morning to mark the third anniversary of the Kabul airport attack that killed 13 U.S. service members.
Trump later addressed the National Guard Association at the group's annual conference in battleground Michigan, where he received an endorsement from former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves who was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait.
The chaotic withdrawal of troops fromAfghanistanin August 2021 continues to be a focal point of conservative criticism of the Biden administration.
Trump has long decried President Joe Biden's handling of what he said on Monday was a "botched" exit and "embarrassing" moment for the nation, though recently has included Vice President Kamala Harris -- his new 2024 rival -- in his denunciation of the event.
"Caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world," Trump said at the National Guard Association, claiming he would have overseen the withdrawal differently.
"We will never forget those brave warriors who made the supreme sacrifice for our country. They will live in our hearts forever," Trump said of the 13 service members killed. He added, "We will honor their memory by restoring a government that puts the American people first."
Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, later held a press call in which he was asked about the contrast between Trump's visit and Biden not being in Washington on Monday.
“First of all, Joe Biden probably doesn't know where he is," he said. "And so the contrast, I think really, is between Kamala Harris and President Trump.”
Vance was joined on the call by members of Gold Star families of those killed in the Kabul attack who claimed the White House hasn't been in contact with them and they're angry about the lack of accountability.
“Kamala Harris is no different. She supported [Biden] this entire time," said Cheryl Jules, the aunt of Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole L. Gee. "The only person who has reached out to our family over and over again and all 13 families is Trump."
Harris on Monday released a statement honoring the 13 U.S. service members who lost their lives when an ISIS-K terrorist detonated a suicide bomb at the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, where evacuation efforts were centered after the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan. At least 170 Afghan civilians were also killed in the bombing and dozens of others wounded.
The vice president said the fallen soldiers "represent the best of America, putting our beloved nation and their fellow Americans above themselves and deploying into danger to keep their fellow citizens safe."
"I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families and I will always honor their service and sacrifice," she said.
Harris went on to defend Biden's decision to end "America's longest war."
"Over the past three years, our Administration has demonstrated we can still eliminate terrorists, including the leaders of al-Qaeda and ISIS, without troops deployed into combat zones," she said in the statement. "I will never hesitate to take whatever action necessary to counter terrorist threats and protect the American people and the homeland."
Harris has previously spoken about being in the room with Biden for important decisions, including his decision to carry out a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan -- which Trumpreportedly tried to launchin his final days as president. The Trump administration's negotiated peace plan with the Taliban included a date of May 1, 2021, for the final withdrawal of troops -- which Biden then continued to carry out with a September deadline.
Top officials havetestified before Congresson the tumultuous withdrawal, some of whom have detailed regrets about how it was handled.
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday announced he will present the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously on Sep. 10 to honor the 13 service members who were killed in Kabul. The medals, Congress' highest civilian honor, will be presented to their families.
Biden, in his own statement on Monday, said the 13 Americans killed at Abbey Gate embodied "the very best of who we are as a nation: brave, committed, selfless. And we owe them and their families a sacred debt we will never be able to fully repay, but will never cease working to fulfill."
Biden said "we must never forget the immense price that was paid for our freedom. We must never forget that each beloved service member we lost was a human being, who left behind entire families and communities. And together, we must never stop striving to be worthy of their ultimate sacrifice."
