Friday will mark the first anniversary of 13 U.S. soldiers being killed in an airport explosion in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul. Yet the American people still don't have any answers from the White House regarding this tragedy, said Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla.
The Biden administration ''has been unwilling to put forward any of the planning they had to withdraw [U.S. troops]" from Afghanistan last summer, Mast told Newsmax on Thursday's "Spicer & Co." with co-host Lyndsay Keith.
When recalling that day, Aug. 26, 2021, Mast still cannot fathom why — amid threats of Taliban suicide bombers in the area — the U.S. service members were ordered to "retreat to an airport they had never been responsible for."
Mast then added, "There are no answers to these [questions], and you can expect no answers at all from this administration — until they're pushed to" respond.
And even then, the Florida congressman said White House officials would likely revert to denials and distraction-based accusations.
It's one thing to keep the public in the dark about what happened in Afghanistan. It's another to keep the 13 families of the fallen soldiers out of the information loop, Mast explained.
"There has been no swift response," said Mast, recalling President Joe Biden's then-pledge of retribution against the people behind the airport bombing. "That was a broken promise. It didn't happen. ... There was no response, except for the wrong family [in Afghanistan] being targeted and killed, and there's been no answer for that as well."
The above comment was a reference to White House officials reportedly botching a drone strike in Kabul last summer — after the U.S. military withdrew from the Taliban-controlled country — that resulted in the deaths of seven children.
The previous exchange then sparked a question as to whether it's fair for Americans to wonder who's leading our nation when the president takes multi-week vacations.
Mast offered a blunt response that recalls his time as a soldier.
"President Biden's mind has been on vacation since before the [2021] inauguration. ... I'd like to see him stop doing things that are screwing up this country," said Mast, who is up for reelection in November. "Don't make stupid campaign promises [about student loan debt reduction]. ... Don't [draw proverbial] red lines with China."
Mast then said about Biden, in terms of defending Americans: "His word is worthless. ... He should not wear the title of 'commander in chief.' He does not have our back."
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