Republicans and Democrats have traded blame over which administration holds responsibility for failing to plan and execute the drawdown of the 20-year military operation in Afghanistan, a chaotic and deadly event that cast a dark shadow over President Biden's term in office but succeeded in ending America's longest war.
The end result was the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul in the face of the Taliban's takeover over two fraught weeks at the end of August 2021. The U.S. exit was marred by masses of people overwhelming the Kabul airport; a devastating terrorist attack that killed 13 U.S. soldiers, among others; and an evacuation crisis that put at risk thousands of Afghan allies and those vulnerable to violence from the Taliban.
The Trump campaign has sought to shift blame from Biden to Harris by bringing up an April 2021 interview the vice president gave to CNN, where she said she was the last person in the room with the president when he made the decision to exit Afghanistan and said she was comfortable with the choice.
- "It's a perfect political attack," said Chris Tuttle, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and who previously served as policy director of the majority staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under Chair Bob Corker (R-Tenn.).
- "I think the campaign feels like it's a good time to remind the general public of what happened and the chaos that ensued as a good line of attack."
Democrats and Trump's critics point to the former president's decision to cut out the Afghan government and negotiate directly with the Taliban on withdrawing all U.S. troops on a specific timeline as the key factor that left Biden few good choices in crafting and executing a plan.
Still, efforts to focus on the broad but nuanced picture often fail to animate the public in an election season, Tuttle pointed out.
"When it comes down to a political campaign, if you're explaining, you're losing," he said.
And Trump and his supporters are working to frame the former president as a leader who deters violence through tough talk and action and honors and respects American service members — even as Trump has a history of insulting and disparaging the military, wounded soldiers and those killed in action.
The Trump campaign held a call with family members of three U.S. service members killed in the Abbey Gate bombing on the terrorist attack's third anniversary Monday, while the former president joined other Gold Star families at a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Republicans, and some families, have attacked Harris and Biden as failing to adequately acknowledge the sacrifice of those soldiers.
- Mark Schmitz, father of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, who was killed in the Abbey Gate bombing, said Trump is "not perfect" but faulted the Biden-Harris administration as failing to take accountability.
- "I think that this [Biden] administration has shown that they've treated the withdrawal from Afghanistan like the plague. You know, they have stayed as far away from this as they possibly can," he said.
In contrast to Trump's visit to Arlington, Biden and Harris released separate statements honoring the 13 soldiers killed and paying tribute to the 2,461 killed and the 20,744 wounded over 20 years of war.
When asked by a reporter why Harris or Biden did not host or attend any public events honoring the fallen soldiers, the White House said the administration was focused on its work behind the scenes.
It's not yet clear if Trump's strategy to portray himself as a tough leader on the world stage resonates with undecided voters.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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