US Vice President Kamala Harris has received the backing of a group of retired senior military commanders who warn against Donald Trump being returned to the White House.
In the National Security Leaders for America letter, the former generals and admirals write that Harris is the only candidate in the presidential campaign who is suited to be the country’s commander-in-chief.
The document signed by 10 retired senior officers described Republican presidential candidate and former president Trump as “a danger to our national security and our democracy.”
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While serving as Vice President, Harris has shown her aptitude to tackle the world’s most pressing defence and security challenges, they said.
“From rallying our allies against Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine to standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies in the Indo-Pacific against China’s provocative actions, to advancing US leadership on space and artificial intelligence.”
The retired commanders also said the former Trump administration was to blame for the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. A bombing at Kabul airport during the pullout killed 13 US armed forces members.
They pointed to a deal between American and Taliban officials when Trump was in power which included the release of 5000 militant fighters, enabling them to return to combat.
“This chaotic approach severely hindered the Biden-Harris Administration’s ability to execute the most orderly withdrawal possible and put our service members and our allies at risk.”
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During this year’s presidential campaign, Trump and other Republican politicians have targeted Biden and Harris over the Afghanistan pull-out.
Earlier this month, Trump made a controversial visit to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC to honour who were killed in the Kabul airport bombing in 2021.
Trump was rebuked by the US Army over his campaign’s use of video and images from the visit, which critics say ran foul of rules prohibiting political activity on the sacred grounds.
The Afghanistan withdrawal ended a nearly two-decade occupation by US and allied forces launched to destroy the al-Qaida militants responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US. The Taliban had allowed al-Qaida’s leader, Osama bin Laden, to shelter in Afghanistan.
In August 2021, the Taliban swiftly overthrew an Afghan government and military that the US and its allies had spent trillions of dollars building in hopes of keeping the country from again becoming a base for anti-Western extremists.
Harris and Trump will face each other in a televised presidential debate on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
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