Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) released the following statement reflecting on the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate terrorist attack which claimed the lives of 13 American servicemembers during the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“The American withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 was a complete disaster brought on by systemic failures across multiple agencies,” said Sen. Mullin. “Lives were lost, and our posture on the world stage was forever changed. Three years later, not one person has been held accountable for the disaster–not Gen. Milley, Gen. McKenzie, Gen. Donahue, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan John Pommersheim, or anyone at the State Department. When the team I was privileged to work alongside got the first Americans out of Afghanistan (through Tajikistan) after the fall of Kabul, U.S. Ambassador Pommersheim told me he was directed by Washington ‘not to assist me or our team in any way’. To this day, no one has testified before Congress as to who gave this directive. No one has been held accountable for the 13 brave American heroes who died at Abbey Gate, or the countless Americans who lost their lives trying to escape Kabul. This is despite the Biden-Harris administration insisting anyone wishing to leave could get out, even though my team and I knew at the time that wasn’t true. While our team got over 500 American citizens (AmCits) out of Afghanistan despite the State Department, we owe it to the Americans the Biden-Harris administration left behind and those who needlessly lost their lives to provide accountability, so a disaster of this magnitude never happens again.”

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