Eli Steele: How Biden’s Afghanistan failure and the Fallen 13’s bravery changed my views on 9/11

Eli Steele reflects on how his perception of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have changed since 13 U.S. service members died during the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Through no fault of their own, their deaths became irrevocably tied to one of America’s darkest moments in history. While the Fallen 13 held fast to their honor and to the humanitarian obligations of America up until their last breaths, their leaders favored political expediency over the realities on the ground and broke faith with them. 

I first met Shana at Kareem’s gravesite in Norco several weeks ago. I had been asked to help with Fox News’ Heroes of Kabul series to mark the first anniversary of the Aug. 26 tragedy. I found Shana to be a hard-charging, tell-it-like-it-is kind of a woman with a heart of gold. When I asked her during the interview what she thought of how the leaders handled the Afghanistan withdrawal, she didn’t blink: "What leaders?" She asked why President Joe Biden, who voted for the war in Afghanistan as a senator in 2001, refused to say the names of the Fallen 13, even during his State of Union speech. She then prefaced her next question with respects to the George Floyd family and asked why this same president mentioned Floyd by name, invited his family to the White House, and praised him as a hero, but not her son and the others.