President Joe Biden stood idly by as flag-draped boxes containing the bodies of American service members slain in Afghanistan arrived in the United States on Sunday.
The President's participation at a "dignified transfer," as the military calls it, is one of the most important tasks for any American commander in chief, serving as a stark reminder of the implications of his actions and the gravity of the position. Biden aspires to be the final US president to see combat dead repatriated from Afghanistan by removing all US troops from the country.
The 13 service members whose remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base on Sunday morning were among the 6,000 US troops the president deployed to assist in a massive airlift evacuation. They were killed last week in a terrorist attack outside Kabul airport gates, a deadly coda in America's longest war. More than 170 individuals were killed in the suicide bombing.
Biden snapped at a reporter
Only the hushed instructions of the honor guards in combat uniform who carried the flag-draped cases, the hum of the C-17 airplane that had brought the dead, and the occasional sobs of the bereaved could be heard during the somber ceremony of the "dignified transfer," as per WBTW.
Before the president became the fourth commander in chief in two decades of war to stand at attention at Dover Air Force Base as the remains of the fallen from Afghanistan returned home, Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, met privately with family members of those killed in the suicide attack near the Kabul airport.
Meanwhile, he rushed out of a press conference today as a reporter attempted to question him on the current Afghan issue. The president snapped at a reporter who questioned him about the recent unrest in Afghanistan.
Before suddenly exiting the press conference platform, he remarked, "I'm not going to respond to Afghanistan right now." The tense exchange occurred as Hurricane Ida made landfall during the US President's visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) headquarters.
Per Express.co, President Biden held the press conference to outline his administration's storm preparations. He said the storm is "life-threatening" and that the damage will "likely be immense." According to the president, it might take weeks for certain areas to regain electricity, and his government is getting ready for the worst.
US troops families criticized Biden
He'd arrived in Delaware under a cloudy sky at an air facility that handles what the military refers to as dignified transfers. It was the kind of bereavement-filled day he hoped to erase from history by finishing the US war in Afghanistan.
Instead, he and the first lady met privately with the relatives of the fallen for the first half of the morning. The deceased was between the ages of 20 and 31, and they came from all across the country, from Massachusetts to California.
Several of the families have criticized Biden, questioning his choice to send them to Kabul during such a tumultuous departure. Their anguish was concealed at Dover airbase, hidden from view yet audible. As the second victim, in a transfer case wrapped in a flag, was transported by a Marine guard from a C-17 aircraft to a transfer truck, sobbing wails of agony could be heard.
As corpse after a corpse was brought past him, Biden stood gravely, hand on heart. With first wife Jill Biden behind him, he kept his gaze locked on each transfer case as it went from plane to vehicle. He bent his head from time to time, as though in silent prayer.
The sound of the C-17 airplane and the calm commands of honor guards in war uniform and white gloves who carried the cases were the only other sounds. Their deaths on Thursday, when they guarded an evacuation of Americans and vulnerable Afghans from an ISIS-K suicide bomber, brought home the perils of ending the US involvement in Afghanistan and the political cost to Biden.
After an almost 20-year conflict that cost 2,400 American lives, the Taliban were able to reclaim control as a result of the departure of US troops. Allies across the world have openly accused Biden of blindsiding them with his haste to leave by August 31. And his handling of the situation, which included blaming Afghan forces for failing to combat the Taliban and criticizing his predecessor's peace pact with the enemy, drew vehement condemnation from all parties at home, as per Daily Mail.
Related Article: Joe Biden Vows to Complete Evacuations in Kabul, Avenge US Deaths After America's Longest War Turned Into Deadly Debacle
