Five Years. No Answers. No Accountability.

By DIA

Five years have passed since Abbey Gate.

Five years since 13 American warriors were killed. Five years since so many others were wounded, scarred, and left to carry the weight of that day for the rest of their lives. Five years since families, friends, teammates, and brothers in arms had their worlds split into before and after August 26, 2021.

And still, no real accountability.

For the people who lost someone at Abbey Gate, life changed forever. For the wounded, the pain didn’t end when the headlines faded. They carried it home. They carry it still. And for those of us who watched it happen, who heard the stories, who know the names, the anger has not gone away.

Because this was not some unavoidable tragedy that came out of nowhere. Warnings were there. Intelligence existed. Decisions were made. Politics were protected. And when those who were there spoke up, too many were ignored, dismissed, or discredited by the very institutions that should have been demanding the truth.

At this point, justice may never come. The hearings have long ended. The headlines have disappeared. The people responsible kept their titles, their pensions, their reputations, and their excuses.

But we will remember.

We will remember the 13 who stood their post. We will remember the wounded who came home forever changed. We will remember the families who deserved better from the country their sons and daughters served. And we will remember that accountability was owed, not requested.

This design is our refusal:
A refusal to let their names fade.
A refusal to let silence win.
A refusal to pretend five years of nothing is acceptable.

Five years. No answers. No accountability.
The Kabul 13 deserved better.
Their families deserved better.
America deserved better.

And we will never forget.