Medal of Honor Recipient Reacts to Unfolding Crisis in Afghanistan

For Master Sgt. Leroy Petry, watching the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan is painful. In 2011, Petry was awarded a Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, for heroism in Afghanistan from former President Obama.

“It makes me angry. Because I got to see firsthand the differences we were making,” Petry told Inside Edition. “I feel like we’re abandoning the Afghans.”

The brutal Taliban sweep across Afghanistan threatens 20 years of American engagement and the sacrifice of more than 2,000 American lives.

“It was worth it to me, the differences that we were making. And now it’s all for nothing, it seems like. Because we’re doing the same thing we did in Iraq, where we pull out and we abandon them,” Petry said.

When asked why he thinks the Taliban was able to take over so quickly, Petry said, “We basically told them we were pulling out. We told them when we were pulling out. One thing we’ve learned since World War II, the enemy is always listening.”

President Joe Biden is dispatching 3,000 troops to assist in the evacuation of U.S. personnel from the capital of Kabul.

“I think the only solution is to not abandon them,” Petry continued. “For a lot of folks deployed, I hope they don’t look at this as, this is our generation’s Vietnam.”

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