A new nationwide poll found the majority of veterans were not happy with how President Joe Biden handled the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
The Facebook survey polled veterans in seven states between Sept. 1 and Sept. 9 and had 769 respondents. It found that 93.4% of respondents believed that the withdrawal did not respect those who served and gave their lives in the conflict.
“I don’t blame the intelligence community. I don’t blame the military. They did their jobs. I blame @StateDept, and I blame @POTUS for the crisis in Afghanistan. Biden ignored intel that told him Afghanistan would fall quickly. He is to blame,” U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, the Republican representing Texas’ 10th Congressional district, which includes parts of Austin, tweeted.
The poll results are similar to the opinion of most Americans when it comes to how the military withdrew from Afghanistan, according to a recent poll from the Washington Examiner, which reported that 69% of citizens disapproved of the exit strategy.
Part of the criticism the Biden administration faced around the withdrawal is that many Americans and Afghanistan allies were left behind, along with the dramatic photograph of Afghans clinging to U.S. military transport planes while they were traveling on the runway at the international airport in Kabul.
Before the final pullout, the State Department was not able to assist all the Americans stranded in Afghanistan and instructed people not to call the embassy for help, stating in an official advisory, “Do not call the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for details or updates about the flight,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
In a set of pre-written remarks, Biden stated, “I always promised the American people that I will be straight with you. The truth is: This did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” However, a former CIA expert says Biden’s statement is “misleading at best” as his agency and others anticipated this scenario and briefed the president months ago, the website justsecurity.org reported.
