Washington Examiner
· collected 2026-08-27 · by Rep. Matt Van Epps
Story summary
Five years ago, on August 26, 2021, a suicide bomber detonated a vest at the Abbey Gate of Kabul airport in Afghanistan, killing 13 U.S. service members and approximately 160 civilians. The attack was carried out by ISIS-K, and it marked one of the final days of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Since then, the families of those killed have struggled to cope with their loss. Mark Schmitz, a gold star father, said that "it doesn't get any easier" but rather gets different as time passes. He and his family have channeled their grief into starting a non-profit organization called Freedom 13, which aims to build camps for first responders, veterans, and their families.
Others, like Rep. Rich McCormick, have criticized the Biden administration's handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. McCormick, who served in the Marines and Navy for over 20 years, says that the collapse of Afghanistan was a "betrayal" by the administration.
A new documentary, "The Path to Zero," has shed light on the chaotic evacuation efforts, showing footage of Afghan forces turning their guns on civilians and local allies being slaughtered by the Taliban. The film also highlights how Abdul Rahman al-Logari, the ISIS-K member who carried out the Abbey Gate bombing, was released from prison after U.S. troops left Afghanistan.
Rep. Matt Van Epps has questioned why there has been no apology for the Biden administration's role in arming the Taliban and contributing to the chaos that unfolded in Kabul. The U.S. had spent over $2 trillion on the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, resulting in more than 2,400 American lives lost.
Written for “US Withdrawal from Afghanistan” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
America devoted more than two decades and over $2 trillion to the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
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America → devote → Afghanistan
The price was measured not only in dollars, but in sacrifice.
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price → measure → sacrifice
More than 2,400 brave Americans gave their lives, while many thousands returned home carrying physical and emotional wounds.
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thousands → give → wounds
Families also bore the burden, spending months and years apart from loved ones serving in one of the world’s most dangerous war zones, and then learning how to take care of those loved ones when they came home.
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they → bear → ones
As someone who fought in Operation Enduring Freedom, this topic hits home for me, especially as we approach the 25th anniversary of September 11th.
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we → fight → 11th
Nothing prepares you for a war without clear battle lines or for an enemy that operates without rules.
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that → prepare → rules
But my fellow soldiers and I gave everything we had to defeat the enemy.
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we → give → enemy
That’s why watching the way it ended was so heartbreaking.
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it → ’ → way
I distinctly remember watching footage of hundreds of panicked Afghans piling into a C-17 to evacuate as the Taliban captured Kabul — and others chasing after the plane, trying to hang on the side, or hiding in the wheel well.
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Taliban → remember → well
Most also can recall heart-wrenching footage of an infant being handed over the airport wall to a soldier as his parents were being crushed in the surging crowd.
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parents → recall → crowd
And most especially, I remember the 13 flag-draped coffins coming home after the bombing at Abbey Gate.
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I → remember → Gate
The Biden administration botched the Afghanistan withdrawal.
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administration → botch → withdrawal
While the troops on the ground — from the airmen and soldiers to the Marines and sailors did heroic work during the evacuation, there was a major leadership problem.
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troops → do → evacuation
Prioritizing political optics over the reality on the ground and ignoring warnings from military leaders, former President Joe Biden chose an arbitrary withdrawal deadline — and shared it with the world, including the enemy.
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Biden → prioritize → enemy
For Biden, it was more important to get headlines declaring he ended the longest war than it was to protect U.S. troops, State Department personnel, military contractors, and Afghan and NATO allies.
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it → get → troops
In the end, Biden didn’t get the headlines he wanted, and the people of Afghanistan don’t have the freedom they deserve.
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they → get → freedom
The Taliban had been making inroads for weeks.
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Taliban → make → weeks
They had already captured Zaranj, Herat, and Kandahar.
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They → capture → Zaranj
When General Mark Milley testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he recommended to President Biden that he maintain a minimum of 2,500 U.S. troops on the ground to sustain the Afghan Security Forces until the Taliban met the conditions of the Doha agreement.
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Taliban → testify → agreement
Despite the Taliban’s failure to meet the requirements under Doha, Biden announced on April 14, 2021, that there would be a complete military withdrawal by Sept. 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Biden → meet → attacks
Despite these warnings, the Biden administration’s State Department refused to plan for a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) until August 6th, days before Kabul fell.
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Kabul → refuse → 6th
Even worse, the Biden administration didn’t declare an NEO until the Taliban began invading Kabul on August 15.
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Taliban → declare → August
State Department officials, U.S. citizens, and other allies were stuck on the ground with no military support.
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officials → stick → support
The evacuation had to pause until troops could be sent back into Afghanistan.
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troops → have → Afghanistan
This led to utter chaos on the ground.
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This → lead → ground
Another bad decision with irreparable consequences was staging all evacuations out of Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Kabul instead of Bagram Airfield (BAF).
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decision → stag → Airfield
It wasn’t just a tactical error to abandon BAF.
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It → abandon → BAF
The United States had a lot invested in this base, and its close proximity to Iran and China also made it strategically valuable.
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it → have → Iran
But BAF also had two large runways and could have been secured, unlike HKIA.
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BAF → have → HKIA
The chaos on the runway and the bombing at Abbey Gate — all could have been avoided if the evacuations had taken place at BAF.
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evacuations → avoid → BAF
This is especially true considering the fact that the ISIS-K terrorist who carried out the Abbey Gate bombing was released from a Bagram prison by the Taliban after the U.S. abandoned it without warning Afghan forces.
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U.S. → consider → forces
It’s been five years since this evacuation, but I know for myself and other Operation Enduring Freedom veterans, the wound is still fresh.
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wound → know → myself
According to a poll done at the time, six in ten veterans said the Biden administration had done a poor job in Afghanistan.
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administration → accord → Afghanistan
Over the years, many veterans have spoken out about the withdrawal, especially those who were there.
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who → speak → withdrawal
A Marine sergeant who was present at the Abbey Gate bombing testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the withdrawal.
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who → testify → withdrawal
He said, “I opened my eyes to Marines dead or unconscious lying around me. …
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I → say → me
My abdomen had been ripped open; every inch of my exposed body except for my face took ball bearings and shrapnel.”
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inch → rip → bearings
On top of the 13 servicemembers that were killed, 45 were injured, including lost organs and limbs.
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45 → kill → organs
During the disastrous withdrawal, I was asked by multiple people if I was okay.
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I → ask → people
I wasn’t — and neither were those I served with.
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I → serve → ?
…and 29 more, not listed.
