The Democratic Representative of Massachusetts, Seth Moulton, said that the botched withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan could lead to the suicide of veterans.
Morton made a comment while talking to him CNNJack Taper on Friday. The two discussed Moulton’s criticism of the “insufficient” remaining U.S. troops assisting the evacuation of Afghan allies and U.S. citizens still trapped in the country.
“We are counting on Taliban Morton said: “Don’t attack our troops on the ground. We put ourselves in this position. It is very remarkable. I spent the whole night with Afghans, Afghan Americans and ground personnel trying to get to the airport. You can’t do this with the exchange door.”
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Members of Congress recognize the administrative efforts of the Democratic president Joe Biden Process paperwork for evacuees faster. However, he stated that the State Department’s plan to let 40 consular officials handle paperwork for “tens of thousands” of evacuees was “completely unacceptable.”
He also said that he had talked with the Marine Corps commander in Afghanistan, who told him that the U.S. military needed more troops to assist in the evacuation efforts. These forces will help ensure that American citizens and Afghan allies can leave without being harmed by Taliban forces.
Tapper then asked Biden if he did not want to deploy more troops because he was worried that the Taliban might kill them. Morton said he believes that if additional troops are not deployed, more people may die.
“I heard from veterans across the country that they were upset by what was happening and seeing their friends, people…the people they gave their lives to them might be massacred in the next few days,” Morton continued. “I mean, listen, because of the way we handle this withdrawal of Americans that kills Americans, you will see an increase in suicide rates among veterans. That also kills servicemen.”
Morton did not explain how the troublesome evacuation caused the veterans to commit suicide. Weekly newspaper Contacted his office for comments.
Suicides among veterans have recently increased. A study published at the end of June It was found that since September 11, 2001, the number of active-duty soldiers and veterans who died by suicide was approximately four times the number of deaths in combat. Army leaders said It is difficult to directly attribute the cause to any one factor.
Biden said on Friday that the United States has evacuated 13,000 people from Afghanistan since the start of the evacuation on August 14. A total of 18,000 people have been evacuated since July. He said the United States is trying to confirm how many Americans and Afghan allies and their families are still waiting to evacuate from Afghanistan.
If you have suicidal thoughts, you can get confidential help for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.call 1-800-273-8255. This line is available 24 hours a day.
