Sean Parnell Makes a Pledge to Gold Star Families on the Fifth Anniversary of Abbey Gate

As much as I would like to exclusively spend August 26 celebrating National Dog Day, tragically, there is another anniversary that we must commemorate today, thanks to the utterly incompetent and disgraceful Biden administration.

In the summer of 2021, because he wanted a boost in the polls, (alleged) President Biden began his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, which culminated on August 26 with a deadly ISIS attack that killed 13 United States servicemembers. Biden had been warned about the attack, but proceeded anyway (ironically, his approval rating never recovered after the debacle).

If possible, the aftermath of the attack might have been even worse, with Biden infamously checking his watch during the dignified transfer of the fallen at Dover Air Force Base, dismissing and insulting the few Gold Star families he spoke to by trying to make their grief all about himself, and, of course, refusing to hold ANYONE accountable for the catastrophe.

This morning, InfantryDort offered his tribute to the fallen on the fifth anniversary of the attack:

5 years ago today.

To the Loved and the Lost at Abbey Gate

Five years ago, you were sent into chaos at the end of a war that had forgotten how to end with honor. At a narrow gate in Kabul, you watch anyway.

You gave what was most sacred to a cause that, in the end, refused to… pic.twitter.com/p7Bot1QEHy
— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) August 26, 2026

... be sacred itself.

We have not forgotten the blast, the silence that followed, and we have certainly not forgotten your names.

You were all a costly sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. And in a war that ended in disgrace, we are left only with the bittersweet realization that America is still good enough to produce those who give the last full measure of devotion.

Even in the face of absurdity.

There was no reason it had to happen, but Biden's handling of the entire situation — before, during, and after — was just a tragic microcosm of his entire failed presidency.

🚨 President Trump announces that Muhammed Sharifullah — the ISIS terrorist who orchestrated the Abbey Gate attack — is on his way to the United States to face justice.

13 brave American heroes were killed in the attack. pic.twitter.com/XyHRoIeaWB
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 5, 2025

Shamefully, unforgivably, every Democrat in the chamber refused to applaud the announcement, just as they refused to stand up for the mother of Jocelyn Nungaray or even young brain cancer survivor DJ Daniel, when the President deputized him as an honorary member of the United States Secret Service.

This morning, Sean Parnell, Pentagon Spokesman and Assistant to the Secretary of War, announced another radical shift from the Biden administration. In a heartfelt address, he pledged to those Gold Star families that he was going to finally deliver the truth to them, no matter how long it takes or to whom it will lead. Watch:

An update from Sean Parnell, Chairman of the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel, on the Fifth Anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing pic.twitter.com/5pkbmuuyX0
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) August 26, 2026

As Parnell noted above, his review panel, authorized by Hegseth last year, has already discovered evidence of the Biden administration trying to cover up their failure. I wish he would have had more to say about that this morning than he did. The last thing anyone wants is to tease accountability to families who lost a loved one, but not follow through.

However, given their performance to date, Parnell and the military under Hegseth and Trump have earned something that Biden and his Defense Department never did: trust.

I'm willing to give Parnell some time so he can provide full disclosure to the families who deserve nothing less. And it WILL take more time, given his report about how a lot of evidence was hidden away, almost certainly intentionally by people who hoped they would never get caught (or that Trump would never win the election).

While we wait for accountability, pay attention today to who offers their remembrances to the Abbey Gate fallen and their condolences to their families — and who chooses to ignore it completely.

None of the names will surprise you, on either side. But they will tell you everything you need to know about who we should ever entrust with ANY authority, let alone the power to send young Americans to war.

I hope Parnell delivers on his pledge, sooner rather than later. The families have suffered unfathomable loss, followed by the previous administration adding heinous insult to their grief. All Americans should demand accountability, but our Gold Star families deserve it more than anyone.

In the meantime, as Parnell also promised, we should all remember and say the names of the fallen on the fifth anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack: