Angle: Building Back Weaker
Ingraham: Deadly, idiotic handling of Afghanistan withdrawal will be permanent stain on America’s foreign policy and military leadership
Laura Ingraham said President Joe Biden is "building back weaker" on several fronts, including in regard to the U.S. military and national security Monday on "The Ingraham Angle."
"Of all the heart-wrenching photos I’ve seen over the past few weeks, one hit me right in the gut: troops paying tribute to their brothers and sisters who died last Thursday, knowing full well that it could have been one of them," she said.
"Then the somber scene at Dover during the Dignified Transfer: one that has been carried out thousands of times during the past 20 years of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. Parents, wives, husbands and children lining up to greet the caskets. For many, the grief too much to bear… But now, the sadness for many of these families is mixed with rage -- justifiably so," she said, playing a clip of Gold Star mother Kathy McCollum of Wyoming.
McCollum's son Rylee was killed in the ISIS-linked blast outside the Kabul airport last week during the later stages of Biden's withdrawal process.
"My son was a genius child, an IQ of 156. He could have done anything he wanted to do in the military and he chose to be a Marine sniper – but I never thought in a million years he would die for nothing," Kathy McCollum said in an interview.
Ingraham went on to say there is much to be angry about regarding Biden's disastrous decisions:
"The deadly, idiotic handling of our Afghanistan withdrawal will be a permanent stain on America’s foreign policy and military leadership," she said, adding that as the Afghanistan crisis intensified, the Biden administration's top officials were literally out of the office or on vacation.
She noted how Secretary of State Antony Blinken was 300 miles away from D.C., enjoying festivities in The Hamptons "with the fancy people."
"Biden was with Jill – and no Cabinet officials -- at Camp David," she said, adding that press secretary Jen Psaki's email was set to auto-reply.
"Apparently none of them thought something important might be happening in Afghanistan while they were having fun: Disgraceful. This isn’t the junior varsity team, this is the team of people who couldn’t make JV. And sadder for our troops is that the kids cut from the JV squad are actually in charge of military planning, too."
She went on to rip the CENTCOM commander, Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie Jr., for comments made in Pentagon press briefings.
When asked by Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin how withdrawing from Afghanistan and leaving it to the same militants they overthrew in the first place, McKenzie said he was "conflicted" but that he "will have days ahead to think about that."
"That’s it? That’s all he has he has to say? He’s had years to think about this! Imagine this guy leading your son or daughter into battle," Ingraham said, offering similar criticism to retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who made remarks about the Afghan war on CNN.
Ingraham said the "hard reality is that we lost."
"The U.S. military was given a mission to accomplish – it was given a series of missions, actually – and it failed to carry them out. The Taliban won the war, and we are retreating in disgrace. That’s what happened, even though none of our made-for-TV generals want to say so," she said.
"Of course no one blames our troops – the best, bravest soldiers can’t be expected to succeed with weak and ineffective military leaders. Abraham Lincoln had to fire a whole series of generals until he found a team that would lead the Army of the Potomac to victory."
"We never found a general who could win in Afghanistan. And so we lost, the Taliban won, and we will have to live with those facts."
She added that Americans must remain vigilant as there is risk the Biden White House will use the Afghan crisis "as yet another excuse to circumvent our immigration laws."
"The families of the fallen and the American taxpayers deserve to know why the lives of Afghans were prioritized over the lives of Americans still in the country," she said.
"We should be told where the refugees will eventually be placed, by what legal authority they are here, and how their sizeable expenses will be covered."
"Of course, the Biden people don’t want accountability for their failures. They keep saying "now’s not the time" to point fingers. They are wrong. This is precisely when we should be demanding answers! We’ve already waited too long, wasted too much money, and lost too many lives. Our patience is at an end."
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