Family of US Soldier Killed in Kabul Angry Biden: 'May You Burn in Hell!
WASHINGTON - Families of 13 US soldiers who died in an ISIS-K suicide bomb attack at Kabul airport, Afghanistan, have expressed their anger at President Joe Biden . Some hope the president burns in hell.
They were angry that at the mourning meeting, President Biden had more to say about his son's death; Beau Biden, not about the 13 American soldiers killed in Kabul. Also read: Biden looks at his watch when he receives 13 bodies of US soldiers, sparks new anger.
 |
| Family of US Soldier Killed in Kabul Angry Biden ( Credit To : Pixabay ) |
On Sunday, Biden walked around a quiet room at Dover Air Force Base. The room was lined with sofas and chairs, where high-ranking officials and the families of the 13 killed US soldiers huddled together. Biden came to talk to them privately.
Mark Schmitz, the father of Jared Schmitz, one of 13 American soldiers killed, had told a military officer the night before that he was not particularly interested in talking to a president he did not elect, whose execution of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disgrace. He blamed Biden for the death of his 20-year-old son.
But on Saturday night Schmitz changed his mind. So, on that gloomy Sunday morning, he and his ex-wife were approached by Biden after he spoke to all the rest of the family. But Schmitz glared at the president who spent more time seeing his ex-wife, and repeatedly mentioned his own son, Beau Biden, who died six years ago.
"I said, 'Never forget this name. Never forget this face. Never forget the names of the other 12'," said Schmitz, recalling the words he threw at Biden.
"'And take the time to learn their stories' ," continued Schmitz for Biden.
Biden, Schmitz recalled, didn't seem to like it. Biden looks goosebumps, offering a blunt answer: “I know their story.”
It was an extraordinary moment of two people united by history. One of them is a president of the United States who was proud to be able to relate to anyone in times of sorrow, but is now dealing with the grief that he himself played a part in creating. The other was the proud Marine Corps soldier father from Missouri, who had been awakened a few nights earlier at 2:40 a.m. by an army officer at his door with news that nearly knocked him unconscious.
In what may be a sign of the country's deep divisions, Schmitz isn't the only member of the family grappling long and hard with whether or not he even wants to meet Biden. There are also those who do not hesitate to criticize the commander-in-chief of America.
Rylee McCollum's family, another Marine Corps soldier who died, also had mixed emotions when it came time to decide whether to talk to president Biden.
“Gigi (nickname for Jiennah) wanted to look her in the eye and hear her,” Roice said, in a text message for The Washington Post .
Roice recounted that Jiennah left the meeting disappointed. The president, he said, kept checking his watch and bringing up Beau Biden.
His feelings appear to be influenced by his overall views on politics and Biden's performance as president.
"He couldn't possibly understand," said Roice. “ You can't kneel at our flag and pretend you care about our troops. You can't screw up as badly as he did and apologize. This need not be the case, and every life is in his hands.
His own emotions sometimes seem contradictory and fickle. He didn't want to meet Biden, and then he did. He didn't intend to shake her hand, and then he did. He agrees with Biden on the need to withdraw US troops, but believes he is undermining the way it should be.
“You make some calls, here's the effect. It must be difficult. I'm not saying it's easy at all. But you can't run and hug someone like you have nothing to do with it. It won't work that way when you're commander-in-chief."
Biden did not address the family group collectively with prepared comments, but instead toured the room for more private moments with each family.
Biden has over the years raised the story of his life and how it was shaped by tragedy.He suffered a brain aneurysm in 1988 that was so significant that a priest came to recite his final rites.
Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015. Biden has often spoken of Beau Biden's service in the Delaware National Guard—and his deployment to Iraq—as a way to convey his empathy with the concerns facing military families.
But his life experiences, which so often provide a connective tissue to help him reach those who are drowning in grief, sometimes seem a failure on this occasion.
For the first time, Biden met with relatives some of whom held him responsible for the deaths of their loved ones.
They don't necessarily see Biden's plight as directly relevant to theirs.
I'm more focused on my own son than what happened to him and his son," said Schmitz.
"I think it's all he's trying to say that he understands grief," added Schmitz.
Schmitz did not react harshly, but he said he was much more comforted by the words of military leaders who came to him on Sunday to offer their condolences than by anything Biden said.
As the bereaved family left the building after their meeting with Biden, solemnly watching the bodies of their loved ones descend from the C-17 plane, emotions were still raw.
Schmitz says he gets agitated whenever he sees Biden checking his watch. And in the end, there was another outburst of emotion.
As the family started to climb back into their bus, a woman got emotional and started yelling at Biden across the tarmac.
"He said, 'I hope you burn in hell! That's my brother!' "Schmitz imitated the woman's words.
"I can't blame him for that," added Schmitz. "We've all lost someone."