Father of Marine who died in Afghanistan withdrawal responds to killing of al Qaeda leader
Darin Hoover, father of Taylor Hoover, reflects on Afghanistan withdrawal that resulted in the loss of his son’s life after al Qaeda leader was killed by drone strike.
United States Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover was one of the 13 U.S. service members killed during the U.S. withdrawal of Afghanistan nearly one year ago.
Darin Hoover joined "Fox & Friends First" to reflect on his son's life following the drone strike that killed an al Qaeda leader in Kabul.
"You've got the Taliban who we made the deal with in order to end the 20-year war, which granted we needed to end that. But at what cost? And it came at the cost of several thousand of our military. And it comes at a cost of, unfortunately, my son and the other 12 that were with him," Hoover told Todd Piro and Carley Shimkus.
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Fallen U.S. Marine Taylor Hoover (Fox news)
A Republican member of Congress warning the Biden administration last week not to withhold the after-action reports on the president’s botched and deadly military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calling on the Department of Defense (DOD) to release the reports on the Afghanistan withdrawal and not withhold them as the department was reportedly weighing.
"The Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan cost the lives of 13 Marines, countless Afghan civilian allies, and it put American weakness on full display," Budd told Fox News Digital in a statement.
In the letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, Budd said that it "has been 11 months since the Biden Administration mismanaged the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan" and essential questions from the pullout "have been unanswered, and Department of Defense (DOD) leadership has offered little insight to the public into how failures in intelligence and execution occurred."
Hoover said he wants his son Taylor to be remembered for his big heart and patriotism. Taylor was killed in an explosion outside Kabul airport that left 170 Afghan civilians dead. Many had crowded the airport in a desperate bid to escape the country.
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"That kid had literally a lion's heart and was very ferocious in protecting his family and those that he loved. He was very anti-bully," he added, emphasizing that he would defend anyone being picked on.
"He was full of love, full of respect and full of patriotism for this country and for his men that he led and trained and worked side by side, hand-in-hand with."
Fox News' Houston Keene contributed to this report
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