KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — President Biden said Monday he stands behind his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, but local families involved in the war disagree.
Gerald and Kathy Hovater lost their son, Jason in the Battle of Wanat in 2008. It's considered one of the deadliest battles in the 20-year-long war.
Kathy Hovater said the news from this weekend is disheartening.
"When I first heard it, my heart just sunk," Hovater said. "I feel for the people, I really feel for the people."
Hovater said Jason's brother asked whether he died for nothing, but as a mother, she wouldn't let herself think that way.
"There's purpose in everything, even though it doesn't look like it," Hovater said. "There is good that will come out of all of that."
Knox County Commissioner Kyle Ward served in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012. He said he doesn't believe the war was for nothing, because American forces succeeded in their mission against Al Qaeda.
"We made the world a safer place," Ward said. "But to abandon the people and to let everything go back to the way it was, is just heartbreaking."
Ward said he thinks Afghanistan will go back to where it was: with narcotics, human trafficking and more violence. He said his biggest fear is that Afghanistan will harbor terrorism once again.
Ward said one of the most difficult parts of watching Afghanistan fall into chaos is the memories it brings. The Special Operations Veteran said he suffered from PTSD after he came back, and so have his fellow servicemen.
"I unfortunately have lost more friends to suicide from the military than I did over in Afghanistan," Ward said.
He urges his fellow Veterans to get help.
The McNabb center provides free support and counseling to Veterans and their families. The center asks people who are suffering to call their direct line at 1-865-444-2333.
The Taliban enforced their rule over Afghanistan's capital over the weekend. The organization took just over a week to overthrow the U.S.-backed government.