Army veteran calls out Biden for ‘systemic abandonment’ of allies: 'It’s as if Afghanistan didn’t happen'

Amidst fallout from shocking testimony during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the Biden administration’s withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021, retired U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Scott Mann blasted the Biden administration for abandoning U.S. allies in the war-torn country.

He told CNN on Thursday morning that he believes the White House and others in the administration are trying to act "as if Afghanistan didn’t happen" and claimed they are flat out "ignoring" the U.S. allies and their families who are still trying to get out of the country, which is now under Taliban control.

Rebuking Biden specifically, Mann added his frustrations that the U.S. military fiasco "hasn’t been mentioned in the State of the Union twice now."

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Mann’s criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of Afghanistan came a day after the emotional testimony given to the House committee by him and U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews about the botched withdrawal that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members.

In one of the hearing's most gripping and heartbreaking depictions, Vargas-Andrews described the moment when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive in the middle of the crowd that was trying to evacuate from Kabul airport.

Vargas-Andrews recounted that there was "A flash and a massive wave of pressure. I’m thrown 4 feet onto the ground but instantly knew what had happened. I opened my eyes to Marines dead or unconscious lying around me. A crowd of hundreds immediately vanished in front of me. And my body was catastrophically wounded with 100 to 150 ball bearings now in it."

The Biden administration has defended itself from the anger and criticism prompted by the hearings, putting much of the blame on the previous administration. In a statement given to CNN Wednesday, White House spokesperson for oversight Ian Sams said that the Trump administration "failed to establish an evacuation plan and slowed down processing of special visas for our Afghan allies."

Sams added, "Instead of returning the U.S. to active combat with the Taliban and putting even more of our troops’ lives at risk, President Biden made the tough decision to finally end the 20-year war in Afghanistan, bring our troops home, and safely evacuate tens upon tens of thousands of Americans and Afghan allies."

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Mann joined "CNN Newsroom" and anchor Jim Sciutto on Thursday morning to talk about the aftermath of the attack more than a year-and-a-half later, slamming the U.S. government and Biden for trying to act like it "didn’t happen."

He said, "What I’m seeing all around at the leadership levels, particularly institutional leaders in the administration, Congress, the military, and the State Department is, it’s as if Afghanistan didn’t happen. It’s as if the withdrawal didn’t happen. And we’re just moving on. Nothing to see here."

The Army veteran then blasted Biden for not having mentioned the pullout when he had major opportunities to, saying, "And the fact that it hasn’t been mentioned in the State of the Union twice now."

Though Mann insisted it’s not a partisan issue for him: "And again, you know me, this is not a Republican or Democrat issue, this is an American issue. And I think leaders need to acknowledge what happened with the withdrawal and what can we put in place to keep this systemic abandonment of our allies from happening again."

Mann noted that’s the "only way" there can be a "moral recovery" on the issue. 

Sciutto then asked the veteran about the "many thousands" of Afghan allies, "who fought behind U.S. Forces" who have been left behind and are now at risk of being targets for the Taliban. He said, "It’s a mess for them and their families to get out," and asked Mann if he believes the administration is "ignoring that problem.

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Mann replied, "It’s a great question and I do believe it is starting to look more and more – or at least seem more and more like the administration is ignoring it." Though he mentioned he was "encouraged" seeing both parties engage during Wednesday’s hearing.