On a fateful Wednesday, families of those who died at the devastating Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan, termed as Gold Star families, voiced their grievances at the Republican National Convention. Diatribes against President Joe Biden’s performance in safeguarding American personnel and interests dominated the RNC stage. Their tear-choked statements laid bare the grand catastrophe that is Biden’s foreign policy.
The horrific attack had occurred on Aug. 26, 2021, mere days before the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from the precipice of falling Afghanistan. The bombing unfolded amidst a nation descending into chaos, resulting in the tragic deaths of 13 U.S. service members and a staggering 170 Afghan civilians – the handiwork of an incendiary device planted by a solitary ISIS suicide bomber who managed to slip through the Taliban’s prison release spree.
The haunting narrative started with a tembling voice, Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of the fallen Sgt. Nicole Gee. Shamblin underscored Joe Biden’s blatant lack of empathy or comprehension of the immense loss endured by the Gold Star families, sharing the stage with her, igniting a palpable sorrow and rage among the crowd.
‘Witness our faces. Feel our anguish. Understand our heartbreak. And, most importantly, observe our fury,’ Shamblin’s words echoed by Sgt. Gee’s aunt, Cherly Jules. The crowd echoed their sentiment with loud chants of ‘Never again’, amplifying the air of solemnity.
The stage then welcomed Alicia and Herman Lopez, their faces masked in tears as they spoke, causing ripples of shared sorrow throughout the audience. Visible streams of tears flowed down many faces in the crowd, amplifying the atmosphere’s heavy emotion.
As the speech neared its conclusion, Herman Lopez painfully recited the names of the 13 brave service members whose lives were extinguished prematurely at the Abbey Gate. The crowd, in a united, reverberating voice, repeated each name – a resonating symbol of respect.
These names were not lost in the sea of RNC delegates or in the collective memory of the country. However, Biden, in a stark disconnection with reality, asserted during June’s debate that his tenure hadn’t seen a single service member’s death.
The harsh truth is that not only did we witness the loss of U.S. troops in 2021 in Afghanistan, we also saw fatal casualties as a result of the Gaza conflict. Tracing the tragedies back reveals the disastrous shortcomings of the Biden administration’s foreign policy.
Mismanaged logistics and a lack of leadership during the chaotic Afghan withdrawal immediately comes to mind, acting as the initial domino in a series of policy failures. The botched circumstances culminated in the grim spectacle of the Abbey Gate bombing.
Adding to the roster of Biden’s disastrous foreign policy record, earlier this year, two Navy SEALs died under questionable conditions. The first one vanished into the sea while boarding an aid ship departing Iran for Yemen, and the second raced after him. None of them were seen again.
Sadly, the tragedies didn’t halt there. In a short span of time, an Iranian proxy militia downed three U.S. soldiers by a drone strike in Jordan. This incident formed a grim sequel to the administration’s history of indulging Iran.
Even after these egregious attacks and a full-blown battle in Gaza, there’s no hint of any pivot in Biden administration’s Iran stance. Unfortunately, this obliviousness is met with the tangible loss of U.S. servicemembers, occurring in places like Afghanistan, the Red Sea, and Jordan.
Despite the alarming number of US service members meeting their untimely demise under the watch of President Biden, the administration has not been forthright in holding U.S. foes accountable for their assaults on the men and women in uniform.
The raw and impassioned speech delivered by the Gold Star families at the RNC was a clear cut message emphasizing the bitter reality that Biden is incapable of safeguarding American troops or its interests.
Given the continuous string of blunders, it’s evident that a more robust strategy is urgently required, a reality that the current administration seems ignorant of, further proving the families’ point that a change is necessary.