On Politics

Mon Sep 11 2023

Marina Pitofsky | Associate Editor/Politics

Hi OnPolitics readers. Gold Star families whose loved ones were killed in action are calling on the nation's elected officials for transparency about the past and action in the future, USA TODAY's Ken Tran reports.

Republicans have long criticized President Joe Biden for the U.S.' chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. At a roundtable hosted the GOP-led House Foreign Affairs Committee in August, Gold Star families of the Afghanistan withdrawal pleaded for Biden and his administration to provide answers behind how their loved ones died.

"This was an orchestrated nightmare. From my perch, that's what I see. The withdrawal from Afghanistan, a chaotic nightmare, purposely orchestrated," Kelly Barnett, mother of Marine Staff Sgt. Darin "Taylor" Hoover, said at the roundtable. "I don't want to hear excuses."

Hoover, along with 12 other service members, were killed in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate outside Kabul's airport.

Trump or Biden? The White House released a report in April that largely laid the blame for the chaotic withdrawal on former President Donald Trump. It said Biden was "severely constrained" by Trump's foreign policy decisions when it came to dealing with the Taliban, which seized control of Afghanistan in 2021.