Five years after the deadly Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul, the final chapter of America's military withdrawal from Afghanistan remains a deeply emotional and politically contentious issue.
Rep. Matt Van Epps, R-Tenn., a former Army aviator and Afghanistan veteran, is marking the fifth anniversary of the attack with a congressional resolution honoring the 13 U.S. service members who were killed and calling attention to what he considers serious failures in the Biden administration's handling of the withdrawal.
Van Epps' remarks came as the nation commemorates the Aug. 26, 2021, attack outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, where thousands of Afghans and American citizens were attempting to escape after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.
Remembering the 13 Americans
The Abbey Gate bombing was one of the darkest moments of the U.S. evacuation.
An ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the airport, killing 13 American service members and more than 100 Afghan civilians. The American troops were assisting with the massive evacuation operation as U.S. forces prepared to leave Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war.
For Van Epps, the anniversary is first and foremost about remembering those who died.
He said the resolution was introduced to ensure that the 13 service members who “made the ultimate sacrifice” at Abbey Gate are not forgotten.
The congressman also connected the anniversary to the larger debate over the decisions that led to the chaotic final weeks of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
Van Epps recalls the withdrawal
Van Epps said he vividly remembers learning five years ago that the United States was withdrawing from Afghanistan.
At the time, he was serving in Tennessee state government after completing a decade of active-duty military service. He recalled speaking with colleagues who had military backgrounds and said there was widespread frustration over how events were unfolding.
For Van Epps, the issue was particularly significant because he had served in Afghanistan himself.
His military career included deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and he spent part of his service as an air mission commander. He later served in the Tennessee Army National Guard.
The withdrawal therefore was not simply a political event for him. It involved people and places connected directly to his military experience.
Two close friends were in Kabul
Van Epps also said the evacuation had a personal dimension because two of his close friends were in Kabul during the operation.
He praised their conduct and said they performed their duties honorably despite the extremely difficult circumstances.
At the same time, he questioned why American troops had been placed in such a dangerous situation during the final phase of the withdrawal.
His comments reflect a broader concern among some veterans and lawmakers that the evacuation exposed U.S. personnel to unnecessary risks.
Sharp criticism of Biden and Harris
Van Epps has been particularly critical of former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the withdrawal.
He argued that the Biden-Harris administration failed to adequately account for the deteriorating security situation and did not respond effectively to warning signs as the Taliban advanced across Afghanistan.
In his Fox News interview, Van Epps described the withdrawal as an “abject failure” and said the Biden administration had not been adequately held responsible for the consequences.
He also argued that the administration placed too much emphasis on how the withdrawal looked publicly rather than on operational realities on the ground.
Debate over the Trump-era Doha agreement
The political dispute also centers on the 2020 agreement negotiated between the United States and the Taliban during Donald Trump's first administration.
Democrats and Biden's defenders have argued that Biden inherited a withdrawal process that had already been set in motion by the Trump administration.
Van Epps rejects the idea that Biden's team was simply forced to follow the previous administration's plan.
He has defended the Doha agreement as providing conditions that could have been used to demand compliance from the Taliban and help create a more deliberate withdrawal.
According to Van Epps, the Biden administration failed to make sufficient use of those mechanisms and ignored warning signs as Taliban forces rapidly expanded their control.
Democrats, however, have continued to argue that the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal were the product of decisions made across multiple administrations rather than the responsibility of Biden alone.
A painful anniversary for veterans
The fifth anniversary is particularly significant for American veterans who served during the Afghanistan war.
The U.S. military campaign began in 2001 following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and continued for nearly 20 years. Thousands of American service members served in Afghanistan, while more than 2,000 U.S. troops were killed during the conflict.
The withdrawal in 2021 brought the war to an abrupt conclusion, but the speed of the Taliban's takeover and the desperate evacuation that followed left a lasting impact on veterans, military families and Afghan allies.
Abbey Gate became a symbol of that turbulent ending.
Questions about accountability continue
Five years later, the debate is no longer limited to whether the withdrawal should have happened. It also concerns how it was conducted and whether adequate safeguards were in place to protect American personnel.
Van Epps believes the anniversary should serve as a reminder that military decisions can have consequences extending far beyond a single administration.
His resolution seeks to keep the focus on the 13 service members who died while carrying out the evacuation mission, while also raising questions about the leadership decisions surrounding their deployment.
Other Republican lawmakers have similarly used the anniversary to criticize the Biden administration and argue that the Afghanistan withdrawal damaged American credibility.
The legacy of Abbey Gate
The Abbey Gate attack remains one of the most painful memories associated with the end of America's war in Afghanistan.
For supporters of Biden, the withdrawal was the difficult conclusion of a conflict that had lasted nearly two decades and was shaped by decisions made over multiple administrations.
For critics such as Van Epps, the evacuation demonstrated failures in planning, intelligence assessment and leadership that placed American troops and Afghan allies in unnecessary danger.
Those competing interpretations are likely to remain part of the political debate for years.
But beyond the arguments over presidents and policies, the anniversary has a more solemn meaning for the families of the 13 Americans killed at Abbey Gate.
Five years later, their names remain at the center of the remembrance — and their sacrifice continues to shape the debate over what the United States should learn from its longest war.
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