White House spokesman John Kirby told staffers via email on Wednesday that there was “no use” in responding to veterans’ concerns about the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal — but he mistakenly also sent the message to Fox News.
The White House has faced years of criticism for the 2021 withdrawal, which was widely seen as a disastrous operation and a failure of leadership in Washington. Amid the third anniversary of the withdrawal, Kirby wrote in an email to staffers on Wednesday that it was a waste of time to chime in on veterans’ opinions about the withdrawal and accidentally included Fox News on the chain after the outlet had sent an initial media inquiry. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Former Navy SEAL Says Biden, Harris Haven’t Learned ‘Any Lessons’ From Afghanistan Withdrawal)
“Obviously no use in responding. A ‘handful’ of vets indeed and all of one stripe,” Kirby wrote in a reply-all email chain with White House staffers and Fox News.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (L) looks on as US National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
When pressed by Fox News why he sent the email, Kirby told the outlet he “didn’t realize you were on the chain.” The email thread was started when Fox reached out to the White House about criticism for the 2021 withdrawal, which included four quotes from veterans criticizing the operation. Kirby’s reply came while he was traveling with President Joe Biden during a visit to New York on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The Afghanistan withdrawal was initially planned by the former Trump administration in 2020, but executed by the Biden administration in a disordered and abrupt fashion. A lack of planning and leadership — and an incorrect prediction that the Taliban wouldn’t seize the country so quickly — created a chaotic situation for U.S. military forces on the ground and led to the deaths of 13 servicemembers.
The Taliban immediately seized control of Afghanistan after U.S. forces withdrew and created a safe haven for other terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda. Roughly $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment was left behind in Afghanistan, all of which is currently accessible to the Taliban.
Despite widespread criticisms, the Biden administration continues to defend the withdrawal as the correct policy choice. It has also laid the blame for the havoc of the operation on the former Trump administration, arguing that Trump had signed the original deal to withdraw.
No one inside the Biden administration has been fired or has resigned for their role in the withdrawal.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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