WASHINGTON D.C., DC — A wounded sniper with the U.S. Marines testified that he had a suicide bomber in his sight in Kabul in August 2021, but commanders did not clear him to take the shot and kill him.
During that time, the U.S. military was pulling out of Afghanistan. A blast killed 13 service members. Among them was Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, from East Tennessee.
"We asked him if we could shoot. Our battalion commander said and I quote, 'I don't know' and myself and my team leader asked very harshly, 'Well, who does? Because this is your responsibility, sir?' He again replied he did not know and would find out," said Tyler Justin Vargas-Andrews, the sniper who testified.
Knauss was a graduate of Gibbs High School and his death led to mourning across East Tennessee.
"I've been here five years and it was the most gripping, pathetic thing I've ever heard in my life. And it just made, really, literally, made me sick to my stomach," said Representative Tim Burchett (R - Knoxville). "It was a war, we're still in a war-situation."
He said that in the testimony, the sniper said they identified two cars and the person. He also said that he believed The White House failed to prevent the blast and that he hadn't heard the details in the testimony until Wednesday night.