Abbey Gate bombing survivor retired Marine Sgt.Tyler Vargas-Andrews said Saturday on "The Big Weekend Show" that U.S.
Marines were forced to improvise their way through the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan after inadequate preparation and support left them facing overwhelming crowds in the days leading up to the deadly attack.Vargas-Andrews, who lost his right arm and left leg in the Aug.26, 2021, suicide bombing, said Marines at Hamid Karzai International Airport were left to adapt on the ground despite warnings from leadership about how dire the evacuation could become.A U.S.
soldier looks out from inside the airport as hundreds of people gather near an evacuation control checkpoint on the perimeter of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Aug.26, 2021. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)Vargas-Andrews told Fox News that the failures leading to the attack began well before the first explosion and renewed his call for accountability."Everything we were doing while we were there was like figuring it out on the go," he said, even as he acknowledged that Marines are trained to "adapt, improvise and overcome."ARMY VET LAWMAKER MARKS ABBEY GATE ANNIVERSARY WITH BLISTERING MESSAGE FOR BIDEN-HARRIS: 'ABJECT FAILURE'"We were lacking in the support.
We were giving [the refugees] our food.We were giving them our water.
There was no tent set up to process refugees," Vargas-Andrews said.This image made available to AFP on August 20, 2021 by Human Rights Activist Omar Haidari, shows a US Marine grabbing an infant over a fence of barbed wire during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 19, 2021.(Courtesy of Omar Haidiri/AFP via Getty Images)He recounted that day, comparing it to something out of the movie "World War Z," saying, "It was just hundreds of thousands of people.
And if I filled up the whole room with sand, that's how many people it felt like [were] there."AMERICA’S PROMISE TO OUR AFGHAN ALLIES IS STILL...