CNN's Dana Bash grilled Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday about Vice President Kamala Harris' role in the failed Afghanistan withdrawal.
Harris Faced Backlash over the disastrous withdrawal that left 13 soldiers dead outside Kabul International Airport. During “State of the Union,” Bash asked Buttigieg how he should handle Harris' role. Confirmed She was “the last person in the room” with President Joe Biden when the decision was made to withdraw troops and Americans. (Related article: Feeling ignored by Biden administration, family of American held in Afghanistan plans to meet with Taliban)
“Let me ask you about something you said. You said the timing of this report's release is political. Aren't both true? It's political and it's politically advantageous for Republicans, because this withdrawal has been so confusing, not in terms of whether the U.S. should withdraw, but in terms of what the withdrawal actually was,” Bash said. “And this is a political issue for the Biden administration, and people that I've spoken to privately acknowledge that. So how is Kamala Harris, who was vice president, going to address this issue?”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul Announced The committee said in August that a detailed report from its three-year investigation into the withdrawal would be released on Monday and “will serve as an indictment of the government's reckless refusal to make adequate preparations for the withdrawal.”
“How you interpret what the report reveals is up to you, but it's clear that we needed to end this war, the longest war in American history. And the question in every presidential election is what happens next? She is clear that we need to ensure that places like Afghanistan never again become a haven for homeland attacks. That's a different counterterrorism policy and stance than staying in Afghanistan indefinitely,” Buttigieg replied.
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“But with all the threats that America faces, ensuring that Afghanistan never again becomes a base for attacks on the homeland, the situation in the Middle East, the situation in China, the latest evidence of Russian interference in our country, and so many other issues, the next president of the United States must be someone who can address them from the perspective of what's best for the American people and our military,” Buttigieg continued. “Not someone who is just looking out for himself, and I think that's exactly what Donald Trump is going to show in the debate in a few days.”
Harris criticized former President Donald Trump over the weekend for attending the third anniversary ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, which she said she filmed, but which Trump did not attend. In response, eight Gold Star families posted a video on X to denounce Harris and say they had invited Trump to the ceremony but had never heard from her or President Biden.
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