(NewsNation) — Nearly two years after the tumultuous U.S. Afghanistan exit and airport bombing, fallen soldiers’ families are still seeking accountability and closure from the Biden administration.
California U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa hosted a forum Monday where the Gold Star families of 13 U.S. service members killed in Kabul spoke out about being ignored by the Biden administration.
On August 26, 2021, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb outside of the Abbey Gate at Kabul International Airport, killing 13 American service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians amid the chaos of the exit.
“Our leaders including the Secretary of Defense, and our Commander in Chief, called this evacuation a success as if there should be a celebration,” Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, said at Monday’s forum. “It is like a knife in the heart for our families.”
During the hearing, Coral Briseno, the mother of Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, emphasized that the seven survivors of the airport bombing have since committed suicide and were never honored by the Biden administration.
Isa added many of the families have never received personal belongings from their deceased loved ones.
“The administration failed us,” Paula Knauss Selph, Gold Star mother of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Christian Knauss, told NewsNation on Thursday. “Words are not enough. Action, such as what my son and others were doing on the field, is what we expect in Congress and this executive administration,” Knauss
Knauss died at the age of 23. His mother described him as “quite a fit soldier.”
“He was a very handsome man, and he lived his life dedicated to the cause of protecting our country,” Selph said.
Previously, Biden was criticized for appearing to look at his watch seconds after a salute honoring the return of the 13 U.S. service members killed in Kabul.
The State Department released an 87-page report on Afghanistan withdrawal failures in early July. The investigation unveiled serious pitfalls in leadership and questions about who was in charge before and during the chaos, which resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and Afghan civilians.
The review repeatedly blames the administrations of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden for their efforts before and after the August 2021 departure of U.S. forces from Kabul. The U.S. evacuated an estimated 124,000 Afghans from the country.
“That humanitarian mission should have never happened,” Knauss Selph said. “No one should have lost their lives in that rescue.”