- National security leaders say Harris is best candidate for commander-in-chief
- It comes after Republicans tied her to the disastrous Afghan withdrawal
- READ MORE: Follow all the latest developments on our politics live blog
Top national security figures on Monday defended Kamala Harris against Republican attacks that she was to blame for the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
‘Vice President Kamala Harris is the best – and only – presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief,’ the retired generals and admirals wrote in their National Security Leaders for America letter.
‘She has demonstrated her ability to take on the most difficult national security challenges in the Situation Room and on the international stage.’
It comes after House Republicans published their investigation into the 2021 withdrawal, blaming the disastrous end to the 20-year war on President Joe Biden and his vice president.
It accused them of focusing on politics and optics, rather than preparing proper evacuation plans.
‘Vice President Kamala Harris is the best – and only – presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief,’ the retired generals and admirals wrote in their letter. She is seen here with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in June
The report, authored by Rep. Michael McCaul of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, cites Harris’s own claim to having been ‘the last person in the room’ when Biden made the decision to bring home the last American troops
And it says Harris worked ‘in lockstep with President Biden behind the scenes to withdraw all US troops.’
However, Democrats say it understates President Donald Trump’s role in the decision and his administration’s deal with the Taliban to reduce the number of U.S. troops to zero in May 2021.
The national security figures, led by (Ret) Admiral Steve Abbot, who served as deputy homeland security advisor to George W. Bush, warn that Trump is danger to democracy.
‘He repeatedly fails to take responsibility for his own role in putting service members in harm’s way,’ they said.
‘Without involving the Afghan government, he and his administration negotiated a deal with the Taliban that freed 5,000 Taliban fighters and allowed them to return to the battlefield.
‘Then, he left President Biden and Vice President Harris with no plans to execute a withdrawal, and with little time to do so. This chaotic approach severely hindered the Biden-Harris Administration’s ability to execute the most orderly withdrawal possible and put our service members and our allies at risk.’
Biden’s announcement in April 2021 that he was ending the war sent Taliban fighters on a whirlwind advance.
They met little resistance. Government forces, without foreign contractors to keep aircraft flying or American allies to provide support, melted away rather than wage a futile last ditch effort.
Ten senior national security leaders issued a statement in support of Kamala Harris, saying she was the best candidate to be the next commander-in-chief
The national security figures said Donald Trump was to blame for the chaos
Taliban fighters marked the third anniversary of seizing Kabul on August 14, 2024
Thousands of Afghans descended on Kabul’s airport as US troops left in 2021
The Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15.
The result was chaos as tens of thousands of foreign nationals and Afghans converged on the city’s airport trying to find passage to safety.
The world watched in horror as desperate young men tried to cling to planes as they took off, some falling to their deaths.
Disaster struck days later when an ISIS-K suicide bomber killed about 170 Afghans and 13 American service personnel.
Republicans and Democrats have traded accusations that they were to blame ever since.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk