Congressman Ken Calvert (R-Corona), the top Republican on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is demanding accountability from President Joe Biden for the Kabul, Afghanistan, airport terror attack.
The attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, claimed the lives of 13 United States service members, including U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal, Kareem Nikoui, from Norco, California, according to an Aug. 25 press release from the congressman’s office. At least 170 Afghans were also killed in the attack.
"As Americans prepare to remember and honor the 13 fallen American heroes whose lives were ended far too soon as a result of the terror attack at Kabul airport, I believe we must renew our commitment to holding President Biden and his administration accountable for the decisions they made leading up to and following that devastating attack," Calvert said in the release.
"One year later, President Biden has failed to explain why he chose to put politics before the safety of American troops, citizens, and our allies,” Calvert said. “We’ve received no explanation for the strategic decision to abandon Bagram Air (Field) or the failure to secure the thousands of terrorists and Taliban fighters secured there. The Biden administration refuses to officially name the bomber, despite unofficial confirmation by sources of his name, affiliation with ISIS-K (the Islamic State Group's Afghanistan affiliate), and that he was among those who escaped from Bagram."
CNN reports that the deaths were the result of a single explosive device detonated by an ISIS-K terrorist. The terrorist had been released from Parwan prison at Bagram just outside of Kabul after the Taliban emptied it. Eleven days later he carried out the suicide bombing. The identity of the bomber has not been released to the public.
The U.S. controlled Bagram Air Field until abandoning it in early July 2021, according to CNN. It had turned over the prison to Afghan authorities in 2013. This revelation highlighted the chaos around the final days of the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the struggle of the U.S. government to control the airport situation as it relied on the Taliban to secure the perimeter of the airport.
Calvert is running for re-election in California’s 41st Congressional District, according to the Desert Sun. Calvert is running against fellow Republican state Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), who joined the election in March, as well as three Democrats.