Utah lawmakers, veterans express shock, frustration over deadly Kabul attack

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s congressional delegation decried a terrorist attack that left 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans dead outside the Kabul airport.

Sen. Mitt Romney called it a sad chapter in America’s history, while a Utah Army Veteran said this isn’t what America stands for, adding that we need to make things right.

For Braden Weyment, there are no words to express the devastation that occurred outside the airport walls in Afghanistan, where Thursday’s suicide bombing resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and over 100 Afghans.

“Every person in my family has been in the military. Our heart is with the military, and they are suffering a great loss right now. They are suffering anger, depression, hopelessness,” he said.

Weyment, an Army Veteran, served in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011.

He’s been desperately working to get his former interpreter’s younger brother and their family on an evacuation flight.

“My friend is a mess. He is very sad,” Weyment said.

Weyment spoke with his friend in Afghanistan shortly after the bombings and confirmed they are safe. However, they don’t know if they will be able to fly out from the airport.

Thursday’s terrorist attack by Islamic State affiliate ISIK was something he said many veterans and Afghans feared was coming.

“August has been a downhill spiral from Masari-Sharif being taken, Baghram being taken, Jalalabad being taken,” Weyment said.

Weyment put the responsibility on the White House’s perceived rush to meet their self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline.

“The service members that perished today, that didn’t need to happen. If we would have had an orderly, timely withdrawal, this would not have happened.” he said. “There should be no deadlines, as long as it takes to get everyone out.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Mitt Romney spoke with KSL Newsradio’s Inside Sources host, Boyd Matheson, shortly after the Pentagon updated the death toll.

“This will go down as a very sad chapter in American history,” said Romney.

Romney criticized the White House for its perceived failure in handling evacuation efforts and decision to leave in the first place.

“If your opponent is still fighting and still wants to attack you, ending endless wars hasn’t occurred because you retreat — they are still there, they will reconstitute and will attack your friends,” he said.

“The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, I thought, was an error. First executed by President Trump, and then President Biden, but the withdraw itself has been so poorly managed that it’s given us a black eye. And it’s important to note, this wasn’t managed poorly by our military,” Romney continued. “The military seems to be doing a very solid job of carrying out their mission to evacuate a lot of people, but they were dealt a very difficult hand.”

Other members of Utah’s Congressional Delegation said they’ve been helping process paperwork for hundreds of Afghan refugees and interpreters.

Rep. Burgess Owens’ office said their team has been working on more than 150 evacuation cases.

“My team is closely monitoring the situation, attending regular briefings, and working in coordination with the State Department and other federal agencies,” Owens’ office said in a statement.

Rep. Blake Moore’s Office said they’ve provided information to the State Department for 150-200 individuals, adding, “The administration’s lack of a cohesive strategy has been heartbreaking as we talk to family after family who are desperate to flee the country, but cannot leave.”

“We need to focus on what’s going to happen right now to fix this mistake and get people to safety,” Weyment said.

In the meantime, Owens said he is co-sponsoring Rep. Waltz’s House Resolution, condemning President Biden’s failure to “heed the advice” of military and intelligence advisors about the Taliban offensive.