John Kirby mistakenly exposes the White House's disdain for veterans' concerns over botched Afghanistan withdrawal

American military veterans continue to seek accountability and answers regarding the Biden-Harris administration's disastrous and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan.

While some veterans may have previously suspected the Democratic administration was doing its best to ignore their concerns, John Kirby, the White House National Security Council communications adviser, appears to have accidentally confirmed on Wednesday that that's the case.

Kirby reportedly sent a message intended for White House staffers to a Fox News Digital reporter, stating there was "no use in responding" to veterans' concerns about the Afghan withdrawal and its portrayal by the White House.

Background

The House Foreign Affairs Committee released a report Monday titled "Willful Blindness: An Assessment of the Biden-Harris Administration's Withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Chaos that Followed."

Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a statement:

Our investigation reveals the Biden-Harris administration had the information and opportunity to take necessary steps to plan for the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government, so we could safely evacuate U.S. personnel, American citizens, green card holders, and our brave Afghan allies. At each step of the way, however, the administration picked optics over security.

According to McCaul, the report makes clear that the Biden-Harris administration's botch job "placed U.S. servicemembers and U.S. State Department personnel in mortal danger" and led to the American and Afghan deaths and injuries at Abbey Gate.

During Monday's White House press briefing, Kirby responded to the report, saying it "comes, of course, two years after their first report, and this one says little or nothing new."

'Absolutely despicable.'

Kirby further characterized the report as "one-sided," then defended the Biden-Harris administration's actions, going so far as to suggest "there was no handover of U.S. equipment to the Taliban."

Kirby also alleged "there was no deception, lying, or lack of transparency by this administration either during or after the withdrawal."

Lack of transparency

The White House's apparent unwillingness to accept responsibility or to at the very least take the report seriously enraged Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills and other veterans.

Mills, for instance, emphasized on X, "It’s time the Biden-Harris administration takes responsibility for abandoning thousands of Americans and allies, for handing over billions in U.S. military weapons and cash to the Taliban, for leaving women and children to suffer under Taliban rule, and for the 13 brave heroes who sacrificed two lives, the one they were living and the life they could have lived."

Fox News Digital indicated that it contacted the White House, referencing several veterans' critiques of Kirby's remarks — including the suggestions that he was merely providing "cover" for or "deflecting" from the administration's ruinous withdrawal.

The email chain was reportedly forwarded to White House staffers on the National Security Council. Then, thinking he was only responding to White House staffers on the chain, Kirby replied, "Obviously no use in responding. A 'handful' of vets indeed and all of one stripe."

Having later realized what he had done, Kirby wrote back to the reporter, stating, "Clearly, I didn't realize you were on the chain."

Republican backlash

"This is how the Biden-Harris administration talks about the well-founded concerns of our nation’s veterans?" Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) asked on X. "Just days after the anniversary of the deadly Afghanistan withdrawal. On the anniversary of 9/11. Our Gold Star families deserve better."

Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller wrote, "Shame!"

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) stressed, "Nobody at the White House should ever speak this way about our veterans seeking accountability for the Gold Star families the Biden-Harris Administration created with their reckless decisions. Absolutely despicable."

Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson (R) suggested Kirby "is a DISGRACE!!" and should immediately resign.

California Rep. Darrell Issa (R) wrote, "This White House has nothing but contempt for veterans who call them out."

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman McCaul said in a statement obtained by the New York Post that Kirby's comments were "appalling, but sadly not surprising."

"The Biden-Harris administration has consistently disregarded our veterans, servicemembers, and Gold Star families over their botched withdrawal from Afghanistan," added McCaul.

The Post indicated that the White House had not responded to its request for comment.

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