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Why Biden Has No Business Going to 9/11 Ceremonies

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Next Saturday is the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, and Joe Biden is expected to travel to all three sites: Ground Zero in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

But, as far as I’m concerned, he has no business going to any memorial. In fact, I think in doing so, he insults the memory of those who died that day, and those who died fighting terrorism abroad.

Biden has often alluded to the death of Osama bin Laden as justification for leaving Afghanistan the way he did. “Remember why we went to Afghanistan in the first place?  Because we were attacked by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda on September 11th, 2001, and they were based in Afghanistan,” Biden said as he marked the “end” of the war. “We delivered justice to bin Laden on May 2nd, 2011 — over a decade ago.  Al Qaeda was decimated. […] We succeeded in what we set out to do in Afghanistan over a decade ago. Then we stayed for another decade. It was time to end this war.”

But Joe Biden didn’t even want to go forward with the raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden. In 2012, he told the story of how he advised Obama to NOT order the raid. “[Barack Obama] went around the table with all the senior people, including the chiefs of staff, and he said, ‘I have to make a decision. What is your opinion?’ He started with the national security advisor, the Secretary of State, and he ended with me. He said, ‘Joe, what do you think?’ And I said … ‘Mr. President, my suggestion is, don’t go.'”

As many as six Obama administration officials, including Hillary Clinton, Leon Panetta, and Robert Gates, also say Biden opposed the raid. Obama himself acknowledged Biden’s opposition to the raid during a debate with Mitt Romney. “When it comes to going after Osama bin Laden, you said, well, any president would make that call. But when you were a candidate in 2008 … you said we shouldn’t move heaven and earth to get one man, and you said we should ask Pakistan for permission. … And even some in my own party, including my current vice president, had the same critique as you did,” Obama said.

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Biden has tried to rewrite history, claiming he didn’t oppose the raid. But the evidence is overwhelming. But his opposition to the raid isn’t the only reason he shouldn’t be going to these memorial events. Not only was Biden part of the Obama administration, which released countless terrorists back to the battlefield against U.S. troops, but earlier this year, Biden cleared three terrorists to be released from Guantanamo Bay prison: Uthman Abdul al-Rahim, Osama bin Laden’s former guard—who’s considered to be a high-value inmate with high-value intel; Abdul Rabbani, an aide to Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks; and Saifullah Paracha, an Al Qaeda bagman and terror plotter. I was never confident that Barack Obama had America’s best interests in mind during his two terms, particularly when it came to his attitudes about the war on terror. Biden has tried to shape his own presidency in the same mold as Obama’s, in which our enemies are set free, making our country less safe.

But lastly, his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan is what should preclude him from being welcome at any 9/11 ceremony. Biden’s botched withdrawal, in which he violated the agreement with the Taliban in the hopes of getting a photo-op for the 9/11 20th anniversary, resulted in the Taliban taking over the country as U.S. troops were evacuated before American citizens. Not only did Biden not even want to go back to conduct rescue missions, but he also created an exposed situation that resulted in 13 U.S. service members being killed, and an unknown number of American citizens left behind to face an unknown fate. Because of Biden, the sacrifices we made in Afghanistan were made in vain, as we are now less safe than we were after 9/11.

We went into Afghanistan because of 9/11, and Biden cared more about was a “Mission Accomplished” photo-op than doing it right. Many died for this selfish purpose, and we cannot forgive or forget that.

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