Statement from national security analyst Gen. B.B. Bell, U.S. Army (Ret.), on the military exfil from Afghanistan:

The admission by the United States Central Command Commander, General Kenneth McKenzie, that all U.S. forces have departed Afghanistan and that on departure they left American citizens behind who wanted to be rescued is the single most dishonorable act by my country that I have witnessed since my first day of military service on 5 June 1969. America has abandoned its citizens behind enemy lines and surrendered their fates to radical Islamic extremists. The United States has broken the most fundamental commitment of trust, safety, and security that I always believed was sacrosanct during my 39 years in the military. I was wrong. Today I am ashamed of my country. I am ashamed of my country’s political leadership. I am ashamed of our military leadership. Today, in my heart, America died. I hang my head in shame. I’m so very sorry for those Americans and our Afghan allies we have abandoned. May God protect them as we have not.

(Gen. Bell is a member of the Patriot Post’s National Advisory Committee. He served in uniform for almost four decades including extended deployments overseas in both peace and war.)