Saigon 1975 on steroids': Hannity blasts 'derelict' Biden for 'humiliating America on the world stage' with Afghan disaster despite warnings and even leaving US munitions there for Taliban fighters to plunder
- Hannity compared the abrupt withdrawal of US personnel and resulting scenes at Kabul airport to the US evacuation of Vietnam in 1975
- The talk show host labeled Biden a 'derelict, low-functioning president' and said 'he wasn't even smart enough to take our munitions out'
- New photos appear to show stockpiles of American munitions and equipment left in Kabul
- Hannity's comments came hours after Biden made his first public address on the crisis in six days after returning from Camp David to the White House
- Biden had remained silent on the issue while he rested at Camp David
- The trip triggered criticism that the commander was out of sight as Afghanistan crumbled into chaosSean Hannity blasted US President Joe Biden on Monday for what he saw as a repeat of the events of April 1975 in Ho Chi Minh City - then named Saigon - when the U.S embassy in Vietnam was evacuated as the North Vietnamese army descended on the presidential palace.
'Joe Biden has frankly humiliated the United States on the world stage. Saigon circa 1975 on steroids,' said Hannity.
'Thanks to the ill-fated actions of our derelict, low-functioning president, the absolute worst-case scenario has been playing out before our eyes.'Hours earlier, in his address to the nation President Biden had defended his decision to bring home U.S. troops before blaming Afghan leaders for their failure to prevent the country collapsing.
Biden's address was the first time the president had spoken publicly about the unfolding crisis in six days, after he left his retreat at Camp David and returned to Washington.
Hannity blasted Biden in his opening monologue for what he saw as a repeat of the events of April 1975 in Ho Chi Minh City - then named Saigon - when the U.S embassy in Vietnam was evacuated as the North Vietnamese army descended on the presidential palace
'Thanks to the ill-fated actions of our derelict, low-functioning president, the absolute worst-case scenario has been playing out before our eyes,' said Hannity
Disturbing footage released on Monday shows a sea of desperate Afghans attempting to cling onto a US air force plane as it takes off from Kabul Airport
The footage circulating on social media shows the swift exit of US forces and personnel from Afghanistan
Hannity went on to say that Biden appeared to ignore the warnings against a rapid evacuation from Afghanistan by his team of military commanders and advisers, and criticised the president over claims he had dismissed intelligence assessments from the region when deciding to pull out US troops and personnel.
'Now Afghanistan has fallen to the Islamic extremists, the Taliban, in record time. [The administration] just said last week it would be 90 days at the earliest and it was overrun in a matter of hours,' said Hannity.
'Taliban fighters are now in control of a massive stockpile of Joe Biden-U.S. Taxpayer paid-for weapons, ammo, vehicles, other supplies abandoned during Biden's hasty retreat.
'He wasn't even smart enough to take our munitions out.'
Hannity laid into Biden over the hasty evacuation and said 'he wasn't even smart enough to take our munitions out'
New images appear to show stockpiles of weapons, munitions and equipment abandoned in Kabul
Hannity continued to criticize Biden for the chaos at Kabul airport where hundreds of Afghan civilians desperately clung to a USAF C-17 plane. The host showed graphic video of some of those refugee-hopefuls later falling from the sky as they lost their grip on the fuselage as the plane gained altitude.
The host further reported that half a dozen people were also crushed by planes attempting to take off amid the panic.
The United States has, over the last 20 years, poured $978billion into the country, according to an analysis by Brown University.The bulk of the money spent in Afghanistan has been on counter-insurgency operations, and on the needs of troops such as food, clothing, medical care, special pay and benefits. Most of American spending on reconstruction has gone to a fund that supports the Afghan Army and police forces - through equipment, training and funding.
Yet despite this, Biden insisted on Monday that he had never supported counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan and repeatedly criticized the Afghan government and military.
'I've argued for many years that our mission should be narrowly focused on counterterrorism – not counterinsurgency or nation building.
'We gave them every chance to determine their own future. What we could not provide them was the will to fight for that future.'
At least three Afghan civilians allegedly plunged to their deaths as they failed to hold on to the US air force plane that took off from Kabul airport
'The buck stops with me' said Biden on Monday as he defended his decision to make a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan after returning from his retreat at Camp David to the White House
'I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces', said BidenPresident Biden did not hold back, laying the blame for the deteriorating situation at the feet of the Afghan government.
'I stand squarely behind my decision,' Biden said. 'After 20 years I've learned the hard way. That there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces.
'I am president of the United States of America,' he said. 'And the buck stops with me.'
'The truth is - this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated. So what's happened? Afghanistan's political leaders gave up and fled the country.'
In his remarks, Biden insisted the rapid collapse of the country only reinforced his belief that bringing troops home was the right thing to do.
'American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves,' he said.
After delivering his speech, Biden dismissed the press' questions and immediately returned to the presidential retreat.
Former President Trump hit back at Biden.
'It's not that we left Afghanistan,' he said in an emailed statement. 'It's the grossly incompetent way we left!'
Vandenberg Coalition chairman and former senior State Department official Elliott Abrams said it was a 'disgraceful performance.'
He added: 'The president never addressed the real questions: why would he not leave a few thousand troops to provide air power?
'Why did he not understand that his decisions would create chaos?'
Only last month, Biden had shrugged off concerns that the Taliban were poised to return to power, saying the Afghan military had the advantage in men and arms.
'The likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely,' he said.
The past week has proved him wrong and plunged his presidency into crisis.
At least eight people were killed during chaos at the Kabul airport on Monday, as thousands of Afghans traveled to the airfield in hopes of escaping the Taliban.
Meanwhile, Taliban fighters are going door to door to find Afghan special forces who fought alongside the U.S., Fox News reported.
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