Trump Calls US Withdrawal from Afghanistan ‘Catastrophic’ on Abbey Gate Anniversary
US President Donald Trump has described the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan as a “hasty and flawed” process, calling it one of the worst military disasters in US history, on the fifth anniversary of the deadly Abbey Gate attack in Kabul.
In a statement marking the anniversary, he declared August 26, 2026, a day of remembrance for the fifth anniversary of the attack. Trump said that in the August 26, 2021 attack, a member of Islamic State entered the crowd at Abbey Gate at Kabul airport and detonated explosives he was carrying.
According to the statement, the incident left 13 US service members dead, 45 wounded, and more than 160 civilians injured. Trump paid tribute to the slain American troops, saying that on the fifth anniversary of the attack, he honours their sacrifice and courage.
Trump also blamed Joe Biden for the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that after 20 years of war to destroy terrorism and remove the Taliban from power, American forces lost their gains because of a wrong decision by the White House. He claimed that the overnight withdrawal of US forces from Bagram base on July 2, 2021, without informing Afghan defence and security forces, paved the way for the loss of America’s largest military base in Afghanistan.
According to Trump, the decision led to the destruction of billions of dollars in military equipment and deprived the remaining forces of strategic advantages. He also claimed that the Taliban took control of Bagram within weeks and released thousands of “terrorists and criminals” from prisons, an issue that, he said, was accompanied by the rapid fall of Kabul and the difficult evacuation from Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Trump added that he was pleased with the arrest of the Islamic State member responsible for the attack and his handing over to the US justice system. He stressed that he would support US military personnel and their families and would not allow the mistakes that led to the Abbey Gate attack to be repeated.
The Abbey Gate attack took place on August 26, 2021, during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, when thousands of people had gathered around Hamid Karzai International Airport in an attempt to leave the country. The attack is considered one of the bloodiest incidents in the final days of the US military presence in Afghanistan.
