Withdrawing from Afghanistan was ‘sad moment’ for the country, SC Gov. McMaster says
Gov. Henry McMaster called the completion of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan a sad day for the United States.
The remaining U.S. military forces flew out of Afghanistan shortly before midnight Monday, ending the nearly 20-year war in the country, which began after the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I thought it was a sad moment for the country, thought it was a low point. I thought we lost credibility around the world,” McMaster told reporters Tuesday. “We’ve been a great hope and light for countries, and men and women around the world for years, and I think we let a lot of people down in doing what we did.”
The withdrawal, which had an Aug. 31 deadline, led to a rush to the airport from Afghans and American citizens trying to flee as the Taliban resumed control over the country.
Earlier this month, McMaster said it’s our duty” to help the Afghans who helped Americans.
“For those who worked with our troops and helped save lives of our troops and our people (and) now have their lives in jeopardy,” McMaster said on Tuesday. “There’s no doubt about that. The answer is yes, we will return the favor.”
On Tuesday, McMaster was critical in how the Biden administration handled the evacuation, adding the images of Afghans holding onto military airplanes trying to flee the country “said it all.”
“It’s a desperate situation,” McMaster said. “I think it was a cavalcade of errors made in the way that it was handled.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 4:58 PM.
