♪ JOEY: KEY DETAILS ARE EMERGING IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S HANDLING OF THE CHAOTIC 2021 WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN. THE STATE DEPARTMENT NOW REPORTING THE MISSION LACKED APPROPRIATE PLANNING AND RESPONSE SAYING, QUOTE, THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT SENIOR-LEVEL CONSIDERATION OF WORST CASE SCENARIOS AND HOW QUICKLY THOSE MIGHT FOLLOW. RETIRED ARMY RANGER AND SPECIAL FORCES OPERATOR TIM KENNEDY WAS ON THE GROUND DURING AFGHANISTAN'S COLLAPSE. HE JOINS US NOW. GOOD MORNING, TIM. BEFORE WE GET STARTED HERE, I WANT TO PLAY THIS FOR YOU, BECAUSE I REALLY WANT TO KNOW YOUR REACTION TO THIS. THIS WAS PRESIDENT BIDEN AS HE WAS ASKED YESTERDAY ABOUT THIS REPORT AND WERE THERE MISTAKES. >> ALL THE EVIDENCE COMES BACK TO REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT AFGHANISTAN? I SAID al-QAEDA WOULD NOT BE THERE. I SAID IT WOULDN'T BE THERE. I SAID WE'D GET HELP FROM THE TALIBAN. WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW? WHAT'S GOING ON? READ YOUR PRESS. I WAS RIGHT. JOEY: I'M THE, WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO THAT? -- TIM, WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO THAT? >> I'M, HONESTLY, SPEECHLESS AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND IF IT'S JUST NONSENSICAL RAMBLINGS, BUT EVERY BAD ACTOR WAS THERE. THE TALIBAN WERE RAPING WIN IN THE -- WELL IN THE STREET, DUMPING MAGAZINES INTO CROWDS AS FORMS OF CROWD CONTROL. SO NOT EVEN A MONTH LATER WE EFFECTIVELY DID AN ASSASSINATION OF HIGH-LEVEL al-QAEDA IN KABUL. SO THAT MAKES NO SENSE. HE'S OBVIOUSLY LYING. AND, YOU KNOW, THE TIMING OF THIS RELEASE, THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE AFTER-ACTION REVIEW ON FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND, YOU KNOW, LIKE, NOT REALLY SAYING MUCH. IT'S SO DISINGENUOUS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THEM TRYING TO COVER HOW HORRIBLE OF A CHAOTIC WITHDRAWAL THAT REALLY WAS. JOEY: YOU OFTEN -- AND IT DID NOT SAY MUCH. IT DIDN'T SAY WHAT YOU KNOW, BECAUSE YOU WERE THERE. BUT I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT A COUPLE. ONE IT SAID THEY DIDN'T SUFFICIENTLY PREPARE FOR WORST CASE SCENARIO. WE REMEMBER PRESIDENT BIDEN SAYING, OH, THEY WON'T FALL, TRUST ME. I THINK THAT'S ALMOST HIS WORDS VERBATIM IN THE WEEK LEADING UP TO IT. BUT ALSO IT SAYS THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS THERE HAD JUST CHANGED OVER, AND THEY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A HARDSHIP STAY SO THAT THEY WOULD STAY KNOWING ONES HAS BEEN THERE FOR A YEAR WOULD STAY SO YOU'D HAVE THE MOST EXPERIENCED PEOPLE THERE K. AND LASTLY ONE THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN NOT TO THE CLOSE THE BAGRAM AIR BASE, AND WE GOT ALL KINDS OF EXCUSES ON WHY THAT HAPPENED. WE LOOK AT STRATEGIC, NOT JUST TACTICAL, BUT STRATEGIC DECISIONS, IT ALMOST LIKES -- LOOKS LIKE THEY WERE COMPLETELY CAUGHT OFF GUARD. >> IT'S SO BAD. IT'S TERRIBLE. I MEAN, WE KNOW DEPARTMENT OF STATE DOES NOT DO ANYTHING THAT IS HARD. SO THE FACT THAT THERE'S NOT A PERSON ON GROUND THAT'S GOING TO STAY UNDER HARDSHIP TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WITHDRAWAL HAPPENS EFFECTIVELY, AND AND IT WASN'T JUST BAGRAM, YOU KNOW? SERVICE THE ALSO KANDAHAR. WE CLOSED TWO OF MOST STRATEGIC AIR BASES THAT WE HAD, AND WE LEFT ALL OF THE EQUIPMENT FOR THE TALIBAN. AND THEN WHEN THE TALIBAN CAME TO KABUL, HAMID KARZAI AIRPORT, THEY WERE EQUIPPED WITH THE BEST EQUIPMENT THAT AMERICANS LEFT THERE. AND HEN WHEN HAY STARTED CONDUCTING TERRORIST -- THEN WHEN THEY STARTED KICKING TERRORIST ACTIONS AS WE KNEW THAT THEY WOULD, THE TALIBAN HAS NEVER CHANGED. THE SAME TALIBAN THAT EXISTED PREWAR NOW EXISTS EVEN WORSE BECAUSE NOW THEY'RE EMBOLDENED AND EMPOWEREDDED AFTER THIS HUMILIATING WITHDRAWAL. SO, YOU KNOW, EVEN ON PAGE 86 ANOTHER ONE THAT YOU DIDN'T POINT OUT WAS THEY EVEN POINTED THEIR FINGERS AT GROUPS LIKE MINE THAT WAS THERE HELPING -- [LAUGHTER] BUT WE CAN'T HAVE ENOUGH -- WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES TO BE EFFICIENT. OUR CHOKEPOINT WAS THEM. THEY WERE LIMITING OUR ABILITY TO BE EFFECTIVE TO GET PEOPLE OUT. JOEY: I SPOKE TO A GOOD FRIEND WHO DID SOMETHING SIMILAR, AND HE SAID I'VE BEEN PLACES WHERE I KNEW THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WOULDN'T HELP ME, THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME WHERE I FELT LIKE THEY WERE MOVING AGAINST ME. I WANT TO MOVE ON AND TALK ABOUT WITH AFGHANISTAN IN MIND AND THIS NEWS IN MIND, WE'RE NOT GETTING PEOPLE TO JOIN THE MILITARY RIGHT NOW. THIS IS FROM THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL", THEY'RE SAYING THE MILITARY RECRUITING CRISIS ORS END EVEN VETERANS DON'T WANT THEIR FAMILIES TO JOIN AS THE PENTAGON SCRAMBLES TO RETAIN THE MAIN PIPELINE FOR NEW SERVICE MEMBERS AS DISILLUSION FAMILIES STEER YOUNG PEOPLE AWAY. I DON'T KNOW IF I FEEL THIS WAY MYSELF. I FEEL LIKE OUR MILITARY IS STRONG ENOUGH TO SURVIVE BAD LEADERSHIP FOR A TIME, BUT I'D LOVE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS. >> IT'S HARD. YOU KNOW, AS A POWER TO FOUR AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, TO WHO TO OF WHICH ARE ELIGIBLE BY AGE TO GO INTO THE MILITARY, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THEM SERVING CURRENTLY. I HAVE BEEN -- WE, THE MILITARY, YOU KNOW, WE WERE LIED TO. HEY, YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS VACCINE, YOU HAVE TO DO THIS OR WE'RE GOING TO KICK YOU OUT. THEN WE FINE OUT, OKAY, IT DIDN'T REALLY HELP. MATTER OF FACT, FOR YOUNG, HEALTHY PEOPLE, THEY MAY EVEN HAVE MORE PROBLEMS THAN THAT. YOU KNOW, THIS AAR BY COUNTY OF STATE IS -- DEPARTMENT OF SATE IS NOT EVEN ADD BECAUSE 5 THE DoD AAR ABOUT THE WITHDRAWAL IN AFGHANISTAN. TWENTY THE YEARS AT WAR. WE WATCHED WOMEN HANDING BABIES LIKE BEACH BALLS TO BE FLOATED FORWARD, PEOPLE HOLDING ON TO WHEEL WELLS AND FALLING TO THEIR DEATHS. AND THEN WE HAVE THE DoD AND DEPARTMENT THE OF STATE THAT ARE, LIKE, NO, NO, NO, IT WASN'T THAT BAD. STOP LYING TO US. THAT'S NOT HOW LEADERSHIP WORKS. IF I MAKE A MISTAKE, I'M GOING TO LOOK YOU IN THE FACE, MAN, I'M SORRY, I MESSED UP. LET'S FIX THIS, LET'S DO THE TOGETHER. BUT THAT'S NOT HAPPENING BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE REAL LEADERSHIP. EVEN ALL THE WAY TO THE VERY TOP PEOPLE ARE THE -- TRYING TO THE MAKE A DIFFERENCE, BUT IT IS SO HARD WHEN WE GET RAMRODDED POLICIES. JOEY: LISTEN, TIM, WE'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT THESE POLICIES. TODAY WE'RE CELEBRATING THE WEEKEND OF INDEPENDENCE DAY, WE'RE ABOUT TO CELEBRATE OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY. DO YOU HAVE A QUICK MESSAGE FOR EVERYBODY WITH THAT THE IN MIND? >> YES. LET'S GO BACK WITH, 1774, 1775. A TYRANNICAL GOVERNMENT WAS IMPOSING THINGS UPON US THAT WE DID NOT WANT. WE DIDN'T SAY, AH, WE DIDN'T SAY HOPE AND PRAYERS, WE DIDN'T TWEET TWO ABOUT IT. WE WERE STRONG AND CAPABLE TO FIGHT BACK. WE PICKED UP ARMS AND WE PUSHED THEM OFF OF THIS CONTINENT. THAT'S WHAT WE DID. LET'S NOT FORGET WHO WE ARE AT OUR CORE. ENJOY YOUR BARBECUE, ENJOY THE POOL, DUH DON'T -- BUT DON'T FORGET WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN. YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG AND YOU HAVE TO BE FREE. JOEY: YOU RISK YOUR COMFORTS OF TODAY TO SECURE TOMORROW. I HOPE
