Former President Donald Trump is gearing up to deliver a speech to National Guard soldiers in Michigan, where he is expected to highlight his foreign policy achievements and draw connections between Vice President Kamala Harris and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan following two decades of war.
The speech coincides with the third anniversary of the tragic suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport, which claimed the lives of 13 U.S. service members and over 100 Afghans, an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
Scheduled to appear at the National Guard Association of the United States’ 146th General Conference & Exhibition in Detroit at 2 p.m. Eastern time, the Republican presidential nominee has been focusing on Harris and her involvement in key foreign policy decisions since Biden halted his reelection campaign.
Trump has emphasized Harris’s statement claiming to be the last person in the room when Biden made the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, portraying her as a pivotal figure in the controversial move.
The families of the fallen servicemembers who lost their lives in the Kabul attack made a poignant appearance at the Republican National Convention, urging a public acknowledgment from Biden, which was seen as a repudiation against the notion that Trump doesn’t honor veterans.
During Trump’s tenure, the U.S. signed a peace deal with the Taliban with the goal of ending the lengthy conflict and bringing troops back home. Biden later used this agreement as a rationale for the troop withdrawal and the subsequent crisis in Afghanistan.
An assessment by the Biden administration acknowledged delays in the evacuation process and attributed them to various factors, including the Afghan government, military, and U.S. intelligence community assessments.
Top military officials admitted to inadequate planning for the withdrawal, with recommendations to keep a residual force of 2,500 troops disregarded in favor of a much smaller contingent focused on embassy security.
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