Under fire Joe Biden pays tribute to fallen American troops

The grim rite played out even as he faced the fiercest criticism of his presidency over his handling of the exit from Afghanistan.

Joe Biden at the transfer of the remains of the fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, on Sunday, Picture: AFP

In a silence broken only by the sobs of bereaved families, Joe Biden stood, hand over his heart, to pay tribute as the remains of the US service members killed in the Kabul bombing attack were transferred from a military C-17 cargo plane to a closely parked row of grey hearses.

In a jolting juxtaposition, the grim rite played out on Sunday (Monday AEST) even as Mr Biden faced the fiercest criticism of his presidency over his handling of the exit from Afghanistan.

The moving ritual played out on the tarmac of Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, with Mr Biden and wife Jill standing sombrely to the side as specially trained white-gloved military crews, stepping softly and in perfect unison, transferred the remains in special metal cases to the waiting hearses.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other military officers and dignitaries were part of a small group joining Mr Biden, all in black masks.

Under a heavy grey sky, family members stood at a distance, protected from the glare of cameras.

The Dover base, on the US east coast about two hours from Washington, is synonymous with the painful return of service members who have fallen in combat.

Meeting the remains of fallen service members at Dover is considered one of the most solemn duties of a US president. Mr Biden, during a speech on Hurricane Ida later on Sunday in Washington, called the soldiers – some of whom were aged just 20, the length of the war in Afghanistan – “heroes”.

“Let’s keep them in our prayers,” he said, declining to take further questions on Afghanistan.

For Mr Biden – whose late son Beau served in Iraq – the loss must have been particularly painful.

In addition to the 13 Americans, more than 100 Afghans died in the Kabul airport attack on Thursday, blamed on a regional arm of the Islamic State. The US has since launched at least two drone strikes on the ISIS-K ­targets, including one on Sunday against a vehicle said to be threatening Kabul airport.

The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan – about 114,000 people have been flown out of the country since the Taliban takeover – has also left Mr Biden ­facing scorching criticism, particularly from Republicans.

About 48 hours from the US deadline for evacuations, Mr Blinken said the US was working tirelessly to evacuate Americans who want to leave.

About 250 US nationals remain in Afghanistan, according to a State Department spokesperson. Some 280 others have self-identified as Americans but not yet decided if they want to leave. Those who chose to stay “are not going to be stuck in ­Afghanistan”, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told Fox News.

Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican centrist – he voted to impeach president Donald Trump – lashed Mr Trump’s successor in an unusually blunt interview.

“Joe Biden put our forces at risk by having no plan for how to evacuate,” said Senator Sasse, who serves on the intelligence committee. “We are absolutely at risk. And we are at risk because the President has been so unbelievably weak.”

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told Fox that Mr Biden’s withdrawal plan was “one of the worst foreign policy decisions in American history – much worse than Saigon because after we left Saigon there weren’t Vietnamese terrorists who were planning on attacking us here at home. I fear for the future”.

AFP