Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a U.S. Marine Corps sniper, tells Congress that he was denied permission to shoot the suicide bomber in Afghanistan that killed 13 service members and over 170 civilians:

"Plain and simple, we were ignored. Our expertise was disregarded. pic.twitter.com/A8mxNlKFkS

— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 8, 2023

“Plain and simple, we were ignored. Our expertise was disregarded, no one was held accountable for our safety,” he told the committee.

He also described the moments after the blast:

“I’m thrown 12 feet onto the ground but instantly knew what happened. I opened my eyes to Marines dead or unconscious and lying around,” he said through tears.

“A crowd of hundreds immediately vanished in front of me and my body was catastrophically wounded with 100 to 150 ball bearings now in it.”

Vargas-Andrews lost an arm and a leg, lost a kidney, and has endured 44 surgeries. //

Vargas-Andrews also said that Joe Biden tried to shake his hand, although he had lost his arm, then started talking about his son.

These are the people to whom Kirby is saying, "Oh, hey, nothing we could have done," when he offers such a shameful response.