World WATCH: Former US marine weeps before court while explaining 2021 Afghan evacuation The Sargent spoke at the first of several hearings organised by Republicans to look into how the Biden administration handled the pullout. He described a time of anarchy and lack of preparation in the days following the Taliban's capture of Kabul Abhishek Awasthi March 09, 2023 13:55:21 IST Sargent Tyler Vargas-Andrews during the hearing. Source: AP Washington: A former US marine who lost his leg in Afghan war testified before lawmakers on Wednesday that some of the thousands of Afghans who were refused assistance during the August 2021 evacuation of US troops from Kabul chose horrific deaths rather than chance Taliban capture. During his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews wept while explaining the ‘catastrophe’ he and other US service members witnessed during the chaotic and fatal evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The Sargent spoke at the first of several hearings organised by Republicans to look into how the Biden administration handled the pullout. He described a time of anarchy and lack of preparation in the days following the Taliban’s capture of Kabul. “The razor wire in front of us, which we used as a deterrent, was used by some Afghans who were turning away from the HKIA to try to harm themselves,” he claimed. When compared to the Taliban’s torture, “they believed this was merciful. ” During the several weeks-long operations, US and coalition troops evacuated nearly 130,000 people, but thousands of their Afghan allies and hundreds of additional Americans were left behind. Sargent Andrews, 25, was one of the approximately 5,800 soldiers Biden dispatched to aid in the evacuation of Kabul in the final weeks of the conflict. In addition to 170 Afghan civilians, thirteen US troops also died in the bombing. Sgt. Vargas-Andrews claimed in court that he and another US Marine had knowledge of the bombing in advance and had seen the suspect in the throng. He claimed that despite alerting his superiors and asking for their approval to move, he never got it. We were simply disregarded, according to Sgt. Vargas-Andrews. He recounted being thrown in the air during the bombing and opening his eyes to find his teammates dead or laying unconscious around him in an emotional testimony. “My body was exhausted from the blast’s stress. My stomach had been torn open. Ball bearings and shrapnel pierced every inch of my uncovered body ” he said. He said, “Hundreds of people arrived in waves, bursting through the gate several times, physically fighting us. “Nothing had equipped us for what we were about to go through on the ground,” he said. Vargas-Andrews and his fellow Marines “worked together to figure out the next best moves as tens of thousands of people descended upon” the airport’s main gate as the situation deteriorated into “chaos” as the mission’s final days approached. “There was severe undernourishment among the populace. Infants were dying from heat stroke and exhaustion,” he said. Afghans “flocked to us pleading for assistance after being brutalised and tortured by the Taliban. ” Throughout the operation, the Taliban were enlisted by the Defense Department to assist in securing the airport’s perimeter, but according to Vargas-Andrews, the group “would regularly murder individuals in our observation at their checkpoint. ” Only shipping containers stood between us and the Taliban when they killed countless Afghans 155 yards in front of our location, he claimed. “We informed our line of command and intelligence assets about the atrocities, but nothing happened,” he lamented. Vargas-Andrews claimed that US soldiers “tirelessly worked to control the crowds” round-the-clock, even after State Department employees finished their shifts for the evening and the number of hopeful evacuees waiting outside the airport increased. “Ground forces faced a nightmare because Department of State employees at HKIA would totally stop processing Afghans every evening and into the following morning,” he said. It was unable to function during reasonable rotations and made it abundantly obvious that it was unwilling to work under other conditions. Watch Video: ????A U. S. Marine Corps sniper was moved to tears as he recounted how his warnings about a potential suicide bomber were ignored by leaders just minutes before the deadly blast at Kabul airport during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a Marine… https://t. co/tsff1dpWAm pic. twitter. com/3cXnFJcw6N — Mariana (@lonestarherd) March 9, 2023 According to a report released in August by the panel’s then-ranking GOP lawmaker, the committee’s Republican members demanded “multiple open hearings” about the botched US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan last year after President Biden declined to hold any senior officials accountable for the choices that caused the mission’s chaos. “Much more investigation is still required to provide a full accounting of what caused this disaster,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said at the time. “And as more details come to light, more concerns will undoubtedly surface,” he said. The State Department was chastised in the August report as well because only 36 diplomats were screening 124,000 evacuees in Kabul, or “roughly one consular officer for every 3,444 evacuees. ” Republicans on the committee claimed in their report that they thought processing could have gone more quickly and spared more lives if there had been more on the ground. According to the report, US Marines stationed at the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport “told Army investigators they rarely saw US State Department employees on the ground and when they did, they did so inconsistently. ” Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Updated Date: March 09, 2023 13:55:21 IST TAGS: Fall Of Afghanistan 2021 Joe Biden Sargent Tyler Vargas-andrews Taliban.