Trump says overnight US withdrawal from Bagram left Afghanistan vulnerable to collapse

Five years after the deadly Abbey Gate attack in Kabul, US President Donald Trump has criticized the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in a proclamation marking the fifth anniversary of the bombing.

Trump declared August 26, 2026, a day of commemoration for the 13 US service members killed in the attack.

According to the proclamation, at 5:36 p.m. on August 26, 2021, an ISIS member detonated a body-worn bomb after moving into a crowd at Abbey Gate. The blast killed 13 US service members, wounded 45 others and injured more than 160 civilians.

Trump paid tribute to the fallen troops, listing their names and honoring their sacrifice and service.

He said US forces had spent 20 years fighting across Afghanistan to defeat terrorism and remove the Taliban from power. Trump accused former President Joe Biden of squandering those gains through what he described as a rushed and poorly executed withdrawal, calling it one of the worst military disasters in US history.

The proclamation said US forces withdrew from Bagram Airfield in the middle of the night on July 2, 2021, without notifying the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Trump said the decision resulted in the loss of the largest US military base in Afghanistan, billions of dollars in military equipment and strategic advantages for remaining US forces.

Trump said the Taliban seized Bagram within weeks and released thousands of prisoners, including people he described as terrorists and criminals. He added that Kabul subsequently fell, forcing US troops to carry out a difficult evacuation from Hamid Karzai International Airport amid the collapse of the Afghan government.

“As Commander in Chief, I will always put America First and defend our sovereignty,” Trump said.

He also said he was proud that the ISIS member responsible for the Abbey Gate attack had been apprehended and brought to face justice in the United States.

Trump pledged continued support for US service members and military families and said the failures that contributed to the Abbey Gate attack must not be repeated.

He concluded by renewing what he called America’s “sacred promise” to the 13 fallen service members and their families: to remember their names, honor their memory and never forget the price they paid for their country.