Remembering the U.S. Marines Killed at Kabul Airport, the Chilling Identity of the Assailant and the Lack of Accountability
Two-and-a-half years after 13 U.S. Marines and more than 170 Afghans were killed in the horrific Abbey Gate suicide bombing at the Hamid Karzai (now Kabul) International Airport amid the chaotic U.S. evacuation, the Pentagon confirmed the assailant’s identity several weeks ago – and it was another gut punch.
Abdul Rahman al-Logari was the culprit who detonated a vest of explosives, ripping through the crowds of desperate Afghans and American service members alike. The Taliban had only just seized control of Afghanistan, and the U.S. withdrawal was in full swing. Al-Logari, a known terrorist affiliated with ISIS-K, had been held captive at Bagram Airfield, the largest airfield in Afghanistan.
Weeks before the Abbey Gate bombing, American troops had vacated Bagram Airfield as part of the administration's Afghanistan withdrawal. Afghan officials reported that the U.S. forces left Bagram, Afghanistan's largest airfield, after nearly 20 years without informing the base's new Afghan commander. Tragically, al-Logari was released by the Taliban in the chaotic aftermath of the American pullout as the U.S. declined to take control of the capital in its final weeks in-country.
I was living in Afghanistan at the time and can personally attest to ISIS-K members leaving the prisons – and regrouping to plot attacks. It remains unclear to me if they escaped in the madness of the moment, or if the Taliban thought they could win them over with some sort of amnesty. (Talibs themselves are paying the price now, with ISIS-K continuing to attacks directed at them in various pockets of the country).
Nevertheless, on that horrible August day, more than a dozen brave American service members lost their lives, and 15 were seriously wounded. The carnage didn't stop there. Countless Afghan men, women, and children were also lost to the violence, their lives snuffed out by a depraved act of terror. Many, more lost limbs and with that, their livelihoods.
The bombing immediately emerged as a political flashpoint. The years of unanswered questions from the administration, already facing scathing criticism over how the evacuation was handled, added to the profound sense of loss and betrayal felt by the families of the fallen service members.
We finally have some transparency on the matter now – but will there be any accountability? This revelation is a microcosm of the whole Afghan saga in which many officials would rather bury and forget than hold to the flame for deeper reflection.
The incident underscored the severe lapses in planning and execution of the withdrawal process. Yet, despite these revelations, no U.S. officials have faced repercussions for their roles in the flawed execution of the withdrawal.
On the Afghan side, the situation is equally disheartening. Many Afghan leaders and warlords, who played significant roles in the country's governance and military operations, fled the country, taking vast sums of money with them. These leaders, who were often mired in corruption, abandoned their posts and their people at a critical moment. Their actions not only contributed to the swift collapse of the Afghan government but also left the country in a state of economic and political turmoil.
The corruption that plagued Afghanistan for years was never adequately addressed. This systemic corruption ultimately weakened the government's ability to function effectively and respond to the Taliban's advances. The U.S. and its allies, despite pouring trillions of dollars into Afghanistan, failed to root out corrupt practices and build a sustainable and accountable governance structure.
The lack of accountability for this has profound implications. It signals a tolerance for corruption and mismanagement that can have devastating consequences for nations in crisis. The international community's inability to hold leaders accountable in Afghanistan has not only damaged its credibility but also undermined the prospects for future state-building efforts.
For Afghanistan, the consequences of this lack of accountability are severe. The Taliban's return to power has reversed many of the gains made over the past two decades, particularly in terms of human rights and women's freedoms. The Afghan people are left to navigate a future marked by uncertainty and repression, a direct result of the failures of their leaders and the international community's inability to enforce accountability.
As the world reflects on the events in Afghanistan, it is clear that addressing corruption and ensuring accountability are crucial for building resilient and stable states. The lessons from Afghanistan should serve as a stark reminder of the importance of these principles in any nation-building effort.
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